Acnologia, My Childhood Friend
by Line464d
Summary: Lucy had been feeling alone ever since Lisanna returned from Edolas. The whole guild except a few and the guild master actually acknowledged her existence. Then when Team Natsu threw her off the team and replaced her with Lisanna, saying she was too weak, she reached her limit. She ran away into the land of Fiore and meets her childhood friend Acnologia. Why is he a Dragon?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

**This is my first Fanfiction, I hope it's good, and yes, I know the story with Lucy being a replacement for Lisanna is quite cliché, but I wanted to start out with something a little easy. I'm Sowwyy guys! Anyway, I hope you like my story, and I'd love feedback, but please be gentle, I don't want to lose my cool just yet ;). I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made. R&R!**

**Disclaimer: No, I don't own Fairy Tail, even though it would be beyond cool. **

**Lucy's P.O.V**

It was a month ago, we all came home from Edolas, and we had thrown a week-long party, for the return of their 'dead' comrade, Lisanna Strauss. Everything was great, and Fairy Tail was as big a mess, as they always had been. Everyone was partying and having fun. Except one person, me, Lucy Heartfilia. I was kind of down, because I felt, that ever since we came back from Edolas, everyone just seemed to not care about me. Team Natsu, my team, were always hanging around Lisanna, and they never greeted me, when I entered the guild. In the beginning of the party, everything was as it used to be, except Team Natsu were hanging around Lisanna. However, now everything had changed for me. No one except Juvia, Wendy, Carla, Gajeel and Pantherlily greeted me when i entered the guild; everyone else ignored me and my existence. Those five, like me, all came after Lisanna 'died', and so they didn't really have much to talk to her about, but they weren't ignored like me. The Guild master was the only other than those five that acknowledged me, but I don't think he had noticed how alone I was.

I sat at the bar at my usual spot, waiting, or rather _hoping_, for Mira to notice me. The barmaid had her elbows propped on the counter and her chin in her hands, listening to whatever Lisanna was telling.  
"Mira." I said in hope of being noticed. My hopes didn't come true, Mira didn't even hear me. "Mira." I called again. No reaction from the barmaid whatsoever. "_Mirajane!_" I said quite loud, finally gaining her attention. But not the way I wanted.

"What?! Can't you see I'm busy? I don't have time for you right now!" Mira replied with a scowl, then turned back to her conversation with Lisanna with her usual bright smile.

"R-right." I muttered and looked down, my bangs covering my eyes conveniently. I felt my eyes water up and tried to fight it. I heard light footsteps approaching me, even with all the bustling noises from Lisanna's conversation, and felt a little hand on my shoulder.

"It's okay Lucy-san. I'm sure Mira-san didn't mean it. I think that she's still shocked by her little sister's revival." A little, fine voice said, Wendy.

"Yes that probably is true, but that doesn't make it okay for Mira to treat Lucy like that." Carla stated firmly.

"No, no. Of course it doesn't, but I'm sure everything will return back to normal soon. So just cheer up Lucy-san and be a little patient!" Wendy said, having still not moved her hand from my shoulder. I wiped my tears and looked at Wendy's smiling face with Carla sitting on her shoulder, and returned the smile.

"Thanks Wendy and Carla, I'm sure you are right." I said. Yeah, even though I've waited in almost a month for _that_ to happen. I added in my thoughts. I stood up from the barstool and pulled the both of them into a hug. "Thank you." I repeated whispering, a warm tear trailing down my cheek and landing on Wendy's face.

**Wendy's P.O.V**

"You're welcome." I said and hugged Lucy-san back with my arms around the blondes back, not caring about the drop on my face. I also felt a tear slipping from my eyes, feeling sorry for Lucy-san and her horrible situation.

We released each other and moved to one of the tables in the guild, further away from Lisanna-san. Carla stood on the table in front of me, facing Lucy-san.

"So, Lucy-san how is your novel coming along?" I asked to move the topic away from the rather depressing conversation, we had before. Lucy-san's face lit up in a bright smile, which made me feel happy, that the blonde was still able to smile in such way.

"Actually it's finished. I've had a lot of extra time on my hands lately, and, well... I've written the novel to pass some time." She smiled. I was quite shocked to say the least. I didn't know Lucy had finished the novel?

"Oh, I didn't know you finished it. Have you told Levy-san yet?" I asked, without thinking for a second. The smile faded from Lucy-san's face and her features grew solemn again.

"No, we haven't spoken at all since Lisanna's revival." Lucy-san said with sad eyes. I cursed myself for speaking before thinking. However I didn't have time to reply, when Carla suddenly fainted.

"Carla!" Lucy-san and I called in unison. The white Neko was having a vision.

I shook her gently and the Neko's eyes fluttered open, she shot up, surprising the two of us, and panted hard.

"Carla! You had a vision, right? What was it about?" I asked the white Exceed. Carla looked at something behind me with scared eyes.

"Oh no..." She whispered as someone came up from behind me. I looked over my shoulder at the four members of the guild, which I expected to see _the least_. Team Natsu and Lisanna-san.

**Lucy's P.O.V**

I saw my team, consisting of Natsu Dragneel, otherwise known as Salamander, a strong fire Dragon Slayer, my dense and reckless best friend in the guild, and the very person who brought me to my new family. Erza Scarlet, also known as Titania the Fairy Queen, a famous re-quip mage, the steadfast and strong big sister I'd never had. And last but not least, Gray Fullbuster, the ice-mage of our team, who had a weird habit of stripping anywhere he was, my caring and loving big brother in the guild, coming up to our table with Lisanna in tow. Natsu had an arm around Lisanna's shoulders, like he'd done to me so many times, and wore his trademark goofy grin. The sight hit something deep inside me, but I ignored it. Erza and Gray followed close behind, with more serious expressions, and Lisanna with her friendly smile.  
I didn't quite know what to make of the situation, so I just sent them all my usual cheerful smile. I hoped anyway. That smile had been hard to create as of late.

They all looked at me shortly before Erza broke the silence. "Well, Lucy, we have something to talk to you about." She started off with her usual authority-filled voice.

"Okay." I said, urging them to continue, completely oblivious with the frightened stares of Carla, and what the conversation would conclude.

"Well..." Gray began and then hesitated to continue, scratching the back of his head.

Natsu became impatient and started speaking cheerfully. "Luce! You know how Lisanna's come back and all, and since we decided we'd be on a team together before she 'died', we thought that she could join Team Natsu?" Natsu asked smiling his goofy smile. Erza and Gray shot him a glare, but he didn't notice.

"No, it's... It _can't_ be right..." Carla whispered, still sitting on the table and staring at the four with frightened eyes. I shot her a worried glance, but shook it off, turning back to my team and Lisanna.

"Of course Lisanna can join the team, I understand. I'm sure it'll be wonderful to have you on the team Lisanna!" I said smiling brightly. I hadn't really gotten the chance to speak to Lisanna, as she constantly was surrounded by her nakama. Maybe now I could get to know her? "So when will we go on a mission? My rent is soon due too." I asked happily. Team Natsu remained silent. I looked at them in confusion. Why were they silent?

"Lucy... I think there's something you didn't quite catch." Gray said carefully and slowly, as if talking to a child. "Lisanna is not _just_ joining the team-" He said pausing shortly before continuing, shooting me an apologetic look as he spoke. "You were a replacement for her all along, and now she's back, she'll get _her_ spot back. That's the only _right_ thing to do, so you're out of Team Natsu." He said slowly, as if he didn't really believe what he was saying. His facial expression saying the same thing. I froze.

"W-what?" I stammered, I felt my whole body begin to tremble. I was out of Team Natsu? Why?

I heard a growl in the corner of the guild, and saw Gajeel staring intensely at Team Natsu. He obviously overheard the conversation with his enhanced Dragon Slayer hearing.

"Yeah, Luce you are the weakest point in our team, and Lisanna is _obviously_ stronger than you." Natsu smiled and shrugged. I felt tears building up_ really_ fast, but fought it with all my might. I thought I saw Lisanna smirk next to Natsu, but that couldn't be, Lisanna was a nice girl. Carla was whimpering on the table. Natsu continued his speech. "And we thought that now you can train and become stronger, so we don't always have to save you! And you can also go on Solo-missions, and not worry about us destroying the whole city!" He said and grinned. I looked at him stunned, I was completely frozen, the tears that were meant to fall from my eyes, fell to my heart and ate away at it like poison. I couldn't even respond to what was just said. Then a beam of iron hit Natsu in the face.

**So what do you think? How quickly I'll update is pretty much up to you guys, if you love it I'll upload faster, if you don't I won't. Pretty much. I think. Maybe I'll just update for fun! ^_^**

**~ Line464d**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2 **

**In the matter of less than an hour after I'd uploaded it, I already had the first person to follow AND favorite my story! Let's all give a round of applause for porche1995! And then another round to all of you other followers, favoriters and reviewers! It makes me immensely happy! :') Oh yeah, I've decided to upload twice a week, Tuesday and Saturday here in the start to get the story going, then later I'll go down to once a week, I think.**

**Except in celebration of me getting an A in a Physics/Chemistry exam, I'll post a new chapter tomorrow! I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made. R&R!**

**Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own Fairy Tail. Yet…**

**Gajeel's P.O.V**

My beam of iron hit the Salamander square in the face and he stumbled back, landing on his butt. "Iron Dragons _Roar_!" I yelled and came up, standing in front of Bunny-girl with Lily flying above my head, towering over the Salamander. Like hell I'd let that _moron_ hurt her more than he already _had_! I as well as Juvia, Lily, Wendy, and Carla knew about Bunny-girl's situation very well, and the six of us had grown quite close the last three weeks. I felt the rage towards the Salamander course throughout my entire body, no idea why I got _so_ mad, as I took a threatening step toward him. "Oi, Flame-Brain! Who the _Hell_ do you think you _are_?! You are no friggin' _God_, you can't just walk around _trashing_ people! I overestimated you as well as the rest of your pathetic team, Bunny-Girl is obviously too good for your team, you aren't _worthy_ of her!" I said, still not over the habit of calling her 'Bunny-girl', and looked menacingly at the three members of Team Natsu.

"What're you saying, Metal-Face?! You agree with me and you _know_ it, but if it's a fight you want - I'm all fired up!" Natsu said his stupid catchphrase, as he got up from the floor, scratches decorating his face and upper-chest. He had already put his fists on fire.

However, I didn't pay any attention to him; I was looking at Bunny-Girl worried, for the first time of my life.

"Bunny-girl, don't listen to him, he's a dense dimwit and it'll never change." I said, the surrounding people except Carla and Wendy looked at me as if they didn't know me. Natsu didn't even respond to the fact that I had openly called him a dimwit. "Come let's get you home." I said softly and offered Bunny-Girl a hand. The whole guild was watching the scene in a state of shock. _Me_, Gajeel Redfox, being _worried_ about someone, and acting _nice_. Bunny-Girl looked at me with a blank and emotionless face and I instantly knew that she was feeling so horrible, that she had to put up the emotionless facade, to not break down completely, and it made something turn inside me. I frowned.

Why did Bunny-Girl, the usually bright and cheery, happy-go-lucky girl, the bright light in the guild, have to be hurt so bad? Why was it not _me_? I_ deserved_ it more than she did after all the things I've done. But nothing happened to me, _I _was not the one targeted.

Over the three weeks of being closer to Bunny-Girl, I'd taken quite a liking to her, more so than even the Shrimp, and I didn't know what to make of it. I'd opened up to Bunny-Girl more than I'd ever done to anyone, maybe with the exception of Metallicana, my dad, but I was only a child then. Bunny-Girl had listened to whatever I'd said, and accepted it, even though I'd murdered more people than I could count.  
She'd explained to me how her childhood had been, and what the whole Phantom-Lord incident was about, I'd never really understood it, I was just happy that I got to fight at the time, and it all made me feel worse. But she cheered me up, telling me that it was in the past. Now I would go far, farther than I _ever_ would before, to help her in _any_ way possible.

Bunny-Girl hesitated a little before taking my offer, but then took my hand and got up. Unexpectedly for everyone, including me, she _hugged_ me and whispered. "Thank you Gajeel, for everything. But I need to be alone for a while." She smiled up at me a little sadly. She looked at my Exceed. "Also thank you to you, Pantherlily." Lily nodded to her, to indicate he heard her. She reached up and patted him gently behind his ears. I was still too stunned to reply. What was this weird feeling in my chest? Then she looked at Wendy and Carla behind me. "And thanks to you two as well, Wendy, Carla." She said softly. I smelled the salty tears mixed with Wendy's scent. She was crying, right alongside Carla. Lucy looked up at me again with her big brown eyes, still emotionless, but I could see all the emotions flooding through her in her eyes, all too fast for me to name them. "Can you thank Juvia for me?" She asked me. I nodded slowly, having regained some mobility, and she smiled a sad smile.

Why does this feel like 'goodbye?' I thought as I saw Bunny-Girl turn around and walk out of the guild, not even sparing the other members a look.

I looked at Juvia who sat on the sidelines at the bar. She'd followed it all the whole time, and she had buried her face in her hands and was crying.

**Lucy's P.O.V**

I walked out the guild doors, still fighting back my tears. I stepped out in the warm, setting sun, feeling it warm up my skin. The people of Magnolia were talking and chatting as usual, all happy.

How could they be happy at a day like this? Why was the sun shining? It should be raining. It would fit the day _perfectly_. Was what ran through my mind as I walked away from the guild, my _home_, in the warm sunlight.

Soon I reached the forest, which lay far enough away from the guild, for the Dragon Slayers to be unable to hear or smell my tears.

I leaned my back against a tree and slipped down, ending with sitting on my butt with my back against the tree. I pulled in my legs and held them close with my arms wrapped around them.

Then I cried out all my grief, in a heart- and ear shattering shriek. I let out all the pain and loneliness I had stockpiled in a scream, which would have deafened the Dragon Slayers. I screamed until I didn't have any more air in my lungs. I dropped my head and rested it on my knees; I began weeping like I've never wept before, not even at episodes with my Papa, Jude Heartfilia.

My tears fell as if I had a limitless container of water, which just waited to be emptied. Why did they do this to me? What did I do wrong? How can Natsu, my best friend, betray me like that? I thought we were closer than this.

A golden light shone in front of me and I felt two strong arms around me and I looked up. I couldn't see much through my tears, but I saw orange at the top, and then black and some white the rest of the way with a red stripe.

Loke, my faithful Spirit, the one I probably trusted the most, even though he kept plaguing me with his 'love' for me. "Shh, it'll be alright, everything'll be alright. I'm here for you as well as all your other Spirits. You're not alone." He said and rubbed my back, in an attempt to comfort me. I nodded slowly and snaked my arms around him, crying with my head buried in his chest. I left a wet spot on his jacket, I hope he didn't mind.

After a while with him rubbing my back, I had calmed down enough to talk. "Loke, why are you here? I didn't call you." I asked in between sobs.

"I felt your distress in the Spirit World, Princess, and came to help you get better." He said matter-of-factly. With every word I felt his chest rumble comfortably, and I felt warmth spread inside me.

"At least _someone_ cares about me..." I mumbled quietly. Loke pulled back from me and looked at me through his sunglasses. I couldn't read his expression.

"Of _course_ there is. All your Spirits and Fairy Tail cares about you, why would you say such thing? What happened?" He asked worried. I debated on whether or not to tell him, but I decided I would, and so I explained everything.

**Loke's P.O.V**

"How _could_ they?!" I fumed. I'd let her be with those dumbasses for _so_ long, and didn't realize their true intentions? To have Lucy replace Lisanna. "Gray I thought more of you. _Much_ more. I did to them all. I see that was _misplaced_." I said in a fit of rage.

I stood up and was about to walk to Fairy Tail and kick some ass, when a little hand gripped my wrist. "No, Loke, not right now. Don't leave me." A tear slipped my beautiful blonde masters brown eyes. "Please." She begged. I softened up and knelt down before her. It could wait till later, even though I itched to kick one certain Ice mages' butt.

"I'll stay with you as long as you wish Princess." I told her and brought her hand, which had grabbed my wrist, to my lips gracefully, where I gently placed a kiss. I then clasped my other hand over it. She looked at me with those big brown orbs I loved so much. "I'll _always_ be there for you." I reassured her.

She smiled softly at me. "Thank you Loke." She said silently. A comfortable silence fell between us for a while.

"Let's go back to the apartment and begin packing stuff. I'm leaving Fairy Tail tomorrow, early in the morning." Lucy then said determinedly and rose to her feet. She was still a bit wobbly from sitting down for so long, and was about to fall, when I quickly caught her by her shoulders.

"Are you sure that you want to _leave_?" I asked concerned with my Master, she was too exhausted to stand up as well as emotionally exhausted. I could understand why she would leave, but I also knew how much she loved and treasured her nakama in Fairy Tail. Maybe, right now, she was such an emotional wreck, that she couldn't think straight. But no matter what she chose, I would support her. _That_ was for certain.

"Yes Loke. I'm sure that leaving Fairy Tail is the right choice." Lucy said, with a faint anger in her words, as if she was trying to hide it. "I need to be away from them for a while. To train mainly, but also to calm down and sort out my feelings." She said, more with sorrow this time. Alright, so she _was_ thinking straight. "I'll miss most of them, especially Wendy, Carla, Gajeel, Pantherlily, Juvia and Master Makarov. Not so much Team Natsu, excluding Lisanna, it isn't her fault, it's _theirs._" She said, shifting her gaze to lock with mine. I couldn't agree more. "Will you help me train?" I was shocked she even had to ask, but I could see in her eyes that she was uncertain on top of the episode in Fairy Tail.

"Yeah, of course I'll help you. Virgo and all the others also will. You have _all_ you Spirits backing you up, don't forget that." I replied with a soft smile. "Now let's get back to your apartment." I said and swept her off her feet in one swift movement, holding her bridal-style. "And you are too exhausted to walk home, so I'll carry you." I said as I began walking out of the forest towards her apartment with a blushing Princess in my arms.

**So what do you think? Reviews are much appreciated. This story, I like it when there's taken some time off to build up the story, so it might be a little slow here in the start, and I apologize, but **_**please**_** hang on! **

**~Line464d**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

**PLEASE READ THIS A/N! – It's quite important.**

**A Guest asked me yesterday when Acnologia will show up, and I guess there's others of you thinking the same thing, and I'm deeply sorry, but as I wrote in the A/N in the end of chapter 2, I'm taking some time to build up the story. And that includes the start… Well, I can make the chapters longer, so it'll be faster. Are you interested in that? Then the chapters will be around the 5.000 words, I think? Please write in the reviews or PM me what you think! Oh, and thank you for bringing this up Guest, you are a pearl!**

**I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made. R&R!**

**Disclaimer: Still don't own Fairy Tail. I really have to talk to Hiro Mashima about this little problem.**

**At the guild Fairy Tail **

**Carla's P.O.V**

I cried as I heard Lucy say her 'thank you's' to the five of us. It was just as in my vision, what they said and what they did.

**Carla's Vision**

_Team Natsu and Lisanna came over to our table, looking at Lucy. Gray and Erza with solemn expressions. Natsu with his goofy smile and Lisanna with a smile._

Then the picture shifted.

_"You were a replacement for her all along, and now she's back, she'll get _her_ spot back. That's the only _right_ thing to do, so you're out of Team Natsu." Gray said. Lucy froze on the spot. _

_"W-what?" She stammered. _

_Natsu picked up where Gray left off. "Yeah, you're the weak point in our team, and Lisanna is _obviously_ stronger than you." Natsu grinned and shrugged carelessly, with Lisanna smirking next to him. _

The picture changed again.

_Lucy was screaming at the top of her lungs, in a forest with tears rolling down her cheeks. Then she cried uncontrollably. She cried like I had never seen her cry before. The tears fell in steady streams down her cheeks._

Then the picture changed again.

_Loke, Lucy's lovesick and extremely loyal Lion-Spirit, kicked the guild doors off their hinges. He was seething in anger and scanning the guild for someone. Then his gaze stopped at Team Natsu and Lisanna. _

_"YOU! YOU MADE LUCY CRY! I'LL MAKE YOU PAY FOR WHAT YOU'VE DONE!" He roared and ran forward towards them. When he reached each of them, he yelled things in their faces and gave them a beating, even Erza, with the exception of Lisanna, he turned to the guild and spoke to them, and then he left to the Spirit World. I couldn't hear what he had said. _

The scene changed again. 

_I saw Lucy walking through an eerie and silent forest, when suddenly something big came running towards her. The whole earth was shaking and, at first, all I could see was a black spot in the distance, but it came closer fast and out appeared a big black Dragon. It was as high as a two-storied building, and I couldn't see its tail from where I was. The Dragon was pitch-black, with some weird, curly, blue marks here and there. It looked at Lucy and roared, and then it lunged forward at her. _

Then it went all black.

**Back in the guild, Fairy Tail **

**Carla's P.O.V**

"No. No it can't be true. It just _can't_." I muttered with my paws on my head. Lucy _couldn't_ be such a wreck, she's _strong_. And she_ wouldn't_ be killed by a Dragon! The vision wasn't true. It was a _fake_.

But I knew very well that _all_ of my visions came true, one way or another, I learned that in Edolas. Wendy's voice cut me out of my thoughts. "Carla, what was your vision about?" She asked carefully, eyeing my reaction.

I hesitated before answering. "It's nothing. It wasn't true. It_ can't_ be." I said flatly.

"But Carla-" Wendy began, but then she read my expression and didn't say anything else.

I hadn't noticed Lucy had left the guild, but as I looked around, she was nowhere to be seen. The usual noisy and rowdy guild was now completely frozen and silent. No one even twitched a pinky.

Then Natsu, dense as he was, didn't feel the mood and pointed at Gajeel. "Ha-ha! You softie! What the heck _was_ that anyway? Metal-Face went all _soft_ on Lucy!" He yelled laughing, and lay on the floor with his hands on his stomach. Gajeel glared daggers at him.

Gray chuckled a little next to Natsu. I was speechless. Did those two not understand the situation they had just created?

At the other side of the guild, a chair was pushed back and fell to the floor. Hasty steps closed in on the two boys, and soon a blue lady stood in front of Gray.

_SMACK!_

Gray became silent, held his hand on his cheek and looked shocked at Juvia, who had tears rolling down from her face steadily. Surprisingly, it didn't rain outside; maybe Juvia had gotten control over it? _And did Juvia just slap Gray?! _

"DO YOU NOT UNDERSTAND _ANYTHING_?! JUVIA CAN'T BELIEVE SHE EVER LOVED ANYONE SO _COLDHEARTED_!" She yelled straight up in his face, he just looked down at her shocked. She calmed down a little and whispered looking away. "Guess that's to be expected, you're an _Ice_ mage after all." She looked up at him with hate glistening in her blue eyes. "Do you even _realize_ what Lucy is feeling right now?" Juvia looked around at the Fairy Tail members with tearful eyes. "Do _any_ of you?" She asked what the five of us had wanted to ask for a long time, and then went over to the table where Wendy, Gajeel, Pantherlily and I were.

Everyone were silent except the few sobs that escaped Wendy. I silently walked to my friend and stroke her with my paw. Gajeel sat down next to Juvia, who reached over the table and also tried to comfort Wendy, even though tears rolled down her cheeks as well. The whole guild, with the exception of Master Makarov, who was attending a meeting with the other guild masters, stared at the five of us. A vein popped at Gajeel's temple.

"WHAT THE HELL IS YOUR _PROBLEM_?! STOP STARING, WE'RE NOT FRIGGIN' _STRANGERS_!" He yelled at them furiously. They all quickly turned away, chatting together quietly, afraid of the Iron Dragon Slayer.  
The table fell silent, and Wendy had stopped crying as well as Juvia, they were trying to wipe away their tears. Gajeel stared off into space and voiced his thoughts. "I can't believe they just _did_ that." He muttered. They all knew who he was talking about, Team Natsu.

"I always thought Lucy-san and Natsu-kun were so close, it seems I was wrong." Wendy said silently.

"Yes. I got the same impression." I said and looked at the doors, which were open wide, where Lucy had left not long ago. "I wonder how she's doing right now, it's getting late." I gazed at sky, which had become dark.

**On the streets of Magnolia **

**Lucy's P.O.V**

Loke carried me out of the shadows of the trees and onto the streets of Magnolia. The sky had become dark and the first stars had appeared. I'd been longer in the forest than I thought. How long had I been weeping?

As we walked towards my apartment, the people we passed looked at us oddly or smiled, as if we were a sweet couple. I blushed.

"Loke, it's embarrassing, people are staring, put me down." I whined childishly, embarrassed with the looks we got. He just walked on, not slowing down one bit.

"No way am I putting you down, you can barely stand up, much less walk. Besides, I very much like having you in my arms." He stated with a glint in his eyes and a smirk. I knew he was trying to cheer me up, with acting like he normally would. I shook my head with a smile, knowing I wasn't coming down anytime soon.

"Loke you pervert." I said and snuggled up against his chest. "Thank you, though." I said in a low voice. I felt Loke's arms tighten around me a little.

"You're welcome." He said with a rumbling, low voice. I smiled again, although he couldn't see it. We, or rather Loke, walked the way to my apartment in a blissful silence

**Loke's P.O.V**

Soon we reached her apartment. I still refused to put her down, so she reached for the keyhole with her apartment key in my arms. Which was somewhat awkward, but we got to laugh a little, so everything was fine. I was just happy that I got her to laugh.

I carried her to her pink bed and put her down on it gently. Lucy had a hard time keeping her eyes open, the eyelids seemed too heavy. I smiled amused at my Master. She would soon fall asleep, so I decided to take my leave now, although it pained me to leave my beautiful, blonde Master in such state.

"Well, Princess, I will take my leave-" I said as I was interrupted.

"Loke." She said with a tired voice and looked at me with those cute, tired eyes. I nodded, urging her to continue. "Can you please stay?" She asked and rubbed her eyes. My eyes widened behind my glasses, but she probably couldn't see that. _That_ was unexpected. She moved to the edge of her bed. "This is a one-time offer and-" She paused. "And I don't want to be alone right now." She whispered carefully, as if afraid that I would decline her offer. Like I would _ever_ do that. Pfft. "So _please_?" She ended off and looked at me with those pleading puppy-eyes through her eyelashes. _That_, I couldn't resist, and she _knew_ it. Small, thumping hearts replaced the space where my eyes used to be, and I jumped up and down like a little boy at Christmas day.

"_Of course_ I will Princess! I was _wondering_ when you'd accept my love, seems today is the day!" I said, _mostly_ to make her forget earlier. Then I jumped in her bed in front of her and wrapped my arms around her, pulling her up to my chest. She looked up at me with a smile.

"Thank you Loke." She said and closed her brown eyes.

"You're welcome." I whispered, and kept staring at her.

After a little moment of silence, she opened her eyes again and looked up at me. "And don't try to do anything _funny_, okay?" She said and slowly closed her eyes again. She snuggled up to me again, and I couldn't help the smile that crept up on my face.

"Of course not, Princess." I knew better than to take advantage of her, one; it would backfire for sure, two; if it would ever happen, which I doubted, since I was a Spirit and she a human, I would want the both of us to agree on it.

My thought-stream ended, when I heard Lucy's breathing become steady and deep, she smiled in her sleep. I smiled at her again; she looked so peaceful, almost angelic, as she slept.  
"Sweet dreams Lucy." I whispered and placed a light kiss on her forehead.

**I don't know why I wrote Dragon with a big 'D', but I'm just going to go with it, don't feel like correcting it… Besides 'Dragon' looks **_**way **_**cooler than 'dragon'. Like, come on. Just **_**look**_** at it. 'Dragon' just seems powerful and almighty and all, while 'dragon' just seems weak and… well… weak. Flat, boring, lifeless. Nope I'm going to use 'Dragon' not 'dragon', I don't care what my English teacher says!**

**Oh, and something new; I'll thank all you favoriters, followers and reviewers down here, just skip it if you don't care ;)**

**Thank you porche1995, DarkStarnight, Arise-chan, sea-hera, animeluver993, arcangel12, , RingoY, Sommer3Butter, KaylaBow, Little Indian Girl, XxXKiaAmaratsuXxX, SaffireRebel, Fantasyfan100, Shadowtolight, Shugofairy3, Apikins, Xx8CrlmSoN8xX, Bstarrb (Guest), JadeHeartlock, Nalugirl, Articallie, FairyTail123 (Guest), iloveanimeandmanga2000, Priscilla dit lánge de la mor, The-Black-Devil, shadowx25, Roxiefoxie, Truth Behind The Eyes, Starry Panda, Guest, sexyblossom08, BlackBunny9196, Fairy-Tail (Guest) and all you other viewers/readers! You all inspire me to go on writing!**

**Whoop, that was a long one.. I can't believe so many already has read my story. I am happy in the deepest depths of my core! I believe they'll be shorter from now on. Anyway, if I missed someone or spelled wrong I'm deeply sorry, PM me and I'll fix it ^_^**

**PLEASE ANSWER THE QUESTION IN A/N IN THE TOP!**

**~Line464d**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

**I don't really feel like anyone is reading this part or the bottom, not that I expected anyone to. Well, anyway, I'm going to make the chapters much longer from now on, so we can meet Acnologia a little faster, however I will only update once a week, since they take much longer to write. -.-' Sowwyy! **

**Anyway, I'm so…. Overwhelmed I guess, that so many people (40) are already following my story! It's friggin' amazing guys! I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made. R&R!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Fairy Tail, obviously.**

**Lucy's Dream **

**Lucy's P.O.V**

_I was on my king-sized bed, back home in the Heartfilia Mansion. I looked up at the white ceiling in my room as I lay on my back, bored out of my mind. My Mama, Layla Heartfilia, was having some important guests today, and I _had_ to stay in my room and wait, like the _nice_ girl I was. _

_Then the door opened at my right, I looked over there, and saw my beautiful Mama._

_Today she'd let her hair fall freely to her knees. She had blonde hair, like mine, but unlike me, Mama's hair was wavy, and like a halo around her perfect body. She had beautiful and warm, brown eyes, like me. She wore a goddess-like white dress, which hugged her curves just the way it should, the dress was a one-shoulder, and the strap was ruffled. The ruffles circled around the dress and the dress reached just below her knees. She wore matching white shoes with high heels. I hoped more than _anything_ else, that when I got older, I'd be just like my Mama. _Perfect.

"_Lucy, honey. We have visitors, please come with me downstairs." Mama's beautiful voice said. My face lit up in a bright smile. Finally something_ fun_ to do!_

_"Okay Mama, I'm coming!" I said and ran up to Mama and grabbed her hand. Mama laughed heartily at her young girls' energy. _

_We went down the stairs and into the big room, where there often were many people and classic music, or important meetings like today. The ball-room, Mama called it. It was big and round, and five big windows that reached from the floor to the ceiling, with equally long dark blue curtains, lit up the big room. The floor was a light marble and the walls pure white. All in all a very light room. In the middle of the room, stood a big wooden table, with 12 chairs around it. 5 on either side and one at each end. _

_On the other side of the table stood two men, an adult and a teenager. I thought he looked like he was 16 years old, the teenager. He had black, spiky hair, which turned blue in the ends, it looked a little weird. His bangs fell over his face, almost reaching his eyes, and pointed in every direction. He had a blue t-shirt on, the same blue as his hair, and black jeans and shoes. His eyes were a dark, almost black, blue color, and they somehow captivated me, just looking into them._

_The man didn't look old either; I thought he looked about the same age as Mama, 25 years old. He also had black hair, but it was brushed back, a little like her Papa's used to and didn't turn blue in the ends. He had dark blue eyes like the boy, not quite as dark, and wore a black suit with a dark blue tie. What's with those two and blue?_

_Mama walked toward the two men and stopped up in front of the oldest. I hid behind her legs, shy with the newcomers. The man took Mama's hand and gracefully brought it to his lips._

_"It's a pleasure to finally meet you again Layla Heartfilia, I've been looking forward to come here. You know me, Kurama Tehepo, but you haven't met my son. This is Acnologia Tehepo." The man, Kurama, said, gesturing toward his son, who bowed deeply with his hand over his heart. As Acnologia was bowing deeply, he looked at me, as I still hid behind Mama's legs, and smiled toothily, but friendly, at me and winked, before straightening his back again, and wearing a serious expression. Kurama continued where he had left off, apparently he didn't notice Acnologia's smile to me. "You must be wondering about the choice of his name, and yes, he _is_ named after his grandfather from all those years ago." The man smiled to Mama. _

_"I see. And yes I _was_ wondering about that name, why is it _that_ name you chose to call him?" Mama asked Kurama, a smile gracing her lips. _

_"Oh, it's quite simple really." The man started. "It is because that name, Acnologia, holds great respect. That Dragon, despite what the_ humans_ may think, was a really honor full Dragon, and he did many good things, that won't be forgotten any time soon. Acnologia, my son, also looks exceptionally much like his grandfather." The man explained. Mama nodded. Kurama then looked at me, and smiled warmly at me. "That is your daughter, Lucy _Heartfilia_, I presume?" The man asked. _

_"Yes, it is." Mama said and pulled gently with the hand I held, to pull me away from her legs. "Come forward, Lucy. They don't bite." Mama smiled. I looked at Mama and then decided to believe her. I stepped up carefully, and then beamed at the two black-haired strangers and did a curtsey, like I'd been taught to do when I met new people._

_"Hi! I'm L-Lucy Heartfilia!" I said a little too quickly and stumbled over my words. Kurama laughed with his deep voice, I could feel his laugh all the way down in my tummy. I blushed slightly. _

_The boy, Acnologia, knelt down and ruffled my hair with his hand gently. "Hi, I'm Acnologia, nice to meet you." He smiled. I already liked the guy._

**Lucy's apartment**

**Lucy's P.O.V**

I jumped awake. The memory of the dream welled over me. I remembered the day _very_ well. It was back when I was 10 years old. It was the first time; I met my childhood friend Acnologia, who was 14 then. He and his father had stayed for a week, and then returned home, Acnologia had quickly become my best friend, and we played together every day, all kinds of games, I always teased him with his weird hair. Those were the _best_ days of my life. Come to think about it, it was quite amazing how close we had become in such short time. But the week ended all too quickly and he and his father left. Soon after my Mama died, and I never saw the boy again, my Papa forbade it. I sometimes overheard the maids and guards talk about Acnologia and Kurama, who tried to see me again, but to no avail. I even heard they went as far as to try to break in to get me. None of the attempts worked, however. I had completely forgotten everything about them. Well until now.

I remembered what Kurama said. 'He's named after his grandfather.' 'An honor full _Dragon'_. What does that mean? Was Acnologia really a _Dragon_ or what? No, it couldn't be true, he couldn't be. He was most _definitely_ a human.

Then I noticed that there weren't a Lion Spirit sleeping next to me. "Oh. He must've returned to the Spirit World to rest." I muttered to myself. "Hmm, we never really began packing yesterday, I'll do it when I've been at Fairy Tail and gotten my insignia removed. First I'll write letters to a few people." I blabbered on to myself and felt a pang in my chest as I talked about the removal of the Fairy Tail mark. I got up from the bed, took a quick shower and changed into a plain, white top and a pink skirt with a pair of flats. I put my hair up in a high ponytail with my favorite ribbon, instead of the usual side ponytail. I sat down at my desk and began writing; one for the whole guild, one for Gajeel and Pantherlily, one for Wendy and Carla and one for Juvia. I laid them on my kitchen table. I was sure Team Natsu would break into my house someday, and then they'd find those letters. I laid the novel next to the letter for the guild. Then I debated on whether or not I should take Gajeel and Pantherlily's, Wendy and Carla's and Juvia's letters with me, and ask Master Makarov to give them the letters.

I decided that those five deserved to know faster than the others, and took them with me and to give them to Master Makarov.

I walked out of my apartment and was actually in a somewhat good mood, considering what I was about to do. I felt _free_ to be honest. As if a heavy burden was lifted off my shoulder.

I even greeted every person I met on the street with a happy smile. It had been a long time since I'd been _that_ happy, it had been three weeks. And that was a long time for Lucy Heartfilia.

I reached the guild and stopped outside the doors. The building towered up over me, and I looked at the banner over the entrance with the Fairy Tail insignia, resembling a fairy with a tail. I held up my hand, so my pink insignia covered the one on the banner.

"This'll be the last time in a long time that I'll see that insignia. I wonder if I'll miss it." I muttered to myself before pulling my hand down again.

I looked at the doors again and gathered up my courage. "Okay Lucy, you can do this. Piece of cake." I pep-talked and opened the doors to my so called home.

I met an almost empty guild, only the barmaid and a few others were there, no Team Natsu member in sight. I felt relieved; I had yet to be able to face them.

I walked up to the counter of the bar and stood in front of the barmaid, demanding her attention. I didn't take the time to say 'good morning' to Mira, mostly just for the sake of payback.

"Mira, is Master Makarov in his office?" I demanded to know, I looked straight into Mira's eyes. She was polishing glasses like she usually did in the morning. Mira looked at me for a moment before answering; the bright and cheery smile nowhere to be seen.

"No He hasn't come back yet, the meeting dre-" Mira began, but was interrupted as I walked away with a nod. I sat down at the table where I, Wendy and Carla sat the other day, when...

The guild doors opened once again, and in came a little elderly man dressed in white. Master Makarov.  
I jumped up from my seat, and walked over to Master. "Master. Can I speak with you for a second?" I asked and then looked around, eyeing the few members that were already up. "In private." I then added.

The guild master looked at me, sighed and nodded. "Yes, of course child. Let's go to the office." He said and we went to his office.

**Master Makarov's office **

**Master Makarov's P.O.V**

I went into my office and Lucy followed me, closing the door after her. I sat on my desk with my feet dangling over the edge and looked at the girl, eyeing the letters in her hand. She didn't act quite like she usually does, something was up. She sat down on one of the chairs in front of me and hesitated before saying anything.

She took a deep breath and then spoke. "Master, I want to leave the guild." She bluntly stated. I froze and dropped my jaw with wide eyes.

"Wait, WHAT?!" I yelled shocked. I just stared at the girl in front of me. "Why would you want to_ leave_ the guild?"

She closed her eyes, sighed and then opened them again. "It's kind of a long story but-" Then she began explaining how the latest three weeks had been for her. Who didn't talk to her anymore. Who she had begun speaking more to, mainly Gajeel and Pantherlily. And at last what happened last night. When she ended her tale, I was fuming with anger directed at Team Natsu, but also myself, for not realizing this earlier. How could I _not_ have seen? Was I_ that_ bad a father?

Lucy pulled me out of my thoughts. "So I've decided to leave the guild for a while to train and become stronger, but also to sort out my feelings and thoughts. I doubt I can do that when I see Team Natsu _every_ day. So, you see, I_ need_ to get away for a while." She said with a little smile directed to me.

I felt sorry for the poor girl for what she was going through. And what she was _going_ to go through. I looked into my child's eyes and saw raw determination in the brown orbs. I nodded silently.  
"Okay, child. Give me your hand and I'll erase it for you." I said sadly with tears stinging the back of my eyes. Lucy gave me her hand without hesitation. I placed my hand over her insignia, and focused my magic in my hand. A sphere of golden light surrounded our hands and when I removed my hand, her hand was bare.

She looked at me and smiled a warm smile. "Thank you, I know this is hard for you." She said and paused. Then a light bulb appeared over her head and she stuck the three letters over to me. "These are letters for Gajeel and Pantherlily, Wendy and Carla and Juvia, can you _please_ give these to them when they're all here. Also, could you wait with telling the guild about my... Leave, until someone asks?" Lucy asked with an apologetic look in her eyes. I nodded.

"Of course Lucy." I smiled, although it pained me to be unable to call her my child anymore. She hugged me and turned around to walk out of the office. "Lucy." I called before she reached the door. She turned around and looked at me confused. "Do you know when you'll be back?" I asked hopefully. She shook her head.

"No, but I'll come back when I'm ready." She replied. I felt my smile falter a bit.

"Be careful, and I'll look forward to see your progress."

"You too Mas-Makarov, I'll come back stronger than ever." She smiled and went out the door.  
When she closed the door after her, I let go of the tears I had held back throughout the whole conversation. I sobbed quietly at the loss of my blonde child. And it was soon S-Class exam too.

**Lucy's P.O.V**

I walked out of the guild, which still had only very few members, holding the hand, where I had the Fairy Tail insignia on before, close to my chest. I got back to my apartment in record time. I reached for one of my keys.

"Open the Gate of the Maiden! Virgo!" I called out. A flash of light appeared in the middle of the room and before me stood my favorite maiden Spirit, Virgo.

"Hello Hime-Sama. Is it time for my punishment?" The pink haired Spirit asked and bowed with the chains dangling from her wrists.

I sweat dropped. "No, no punishment today, Virgo. I need to pack some of my things, I'm sure Loke has explained why, and I thought I could store it in the Spirit World?" I asked my Spirit.

"Yes, Hime-Sama, Brother has told all of us. You can store some of your things in the Spirit World, but you can't have too much. Maximum is one bag." Virgo told me monotonously. I smiled.

"Alright, thank you. I don't need more than that either way." I walked over to my bed and pulled out the bag I had under it along with the sleeping bag that I'd used when I ran from my Papa. I began stuffing clothes into the bag and other necessities, Virgo helped me out along the way.

When I was finished packing I gave the bag to Virgo.

"Hime-Sama. Brother said to wait calling him in some time; he has some business to take care of." Virgo said with her monotone voice.

"Oh okay Virgo. Thank you." I smiled. Virgo saluted and disappeared with my bag to the Spirit World. I packed a little bag that could be added to my belt with some jewels, and found my whip and put it in its place in the belt. I found my purse with my keys and added it to the belt as well, right next to the little bag. I put on my white leather-jacket that I hadn't used much this last year and swung my sleeping bag over my shoulder.

I looked around in my apartment to see if I'd forgotten anything. When I didn't find anything, I left and locked the door after me.

Walking down the street, twenty meters away, the Landlady's house lay, a little yellow brick-house. I knocked on the dark wooden-door and soon a little, fat woman with purple hair and glasses, dressed in a red dress, stood at the door. "Yeah, what is it?" She asked, not even trying to hide how annoyed she was.

"Hi, sorry to bother you Ma'am, I'd like to return my apartment key to you. I'm moving out. Could you possibly leave the apartment as it is for a month, I've left some letters for my- for _members_ of the guild Fairy Tail there, and if they don't find it before that month, can you please send it to Fairy Tail?" I babbled on. The Landlady looked shocked that I wanted to leave, but then nodded.

"Yes, I'll deliver it to Fairy Tail, but I'll only wait a month." The Landlady said.

"Thank you, I'll see you around." I smiled and waved. The Landlady went inside her house without throwing me another gaze. I sweat dropped.

I decided to call out Plue. "Open the gate of the Canis Minor! Nikora!" I said, and before me stood Plue in all its ''might''. It was a little snowman-looking thing with a carrot for a nose. It couldn't keep steady on its feet, so it swayed for side to side.

"Puuun~" It said.

I squealed at its cuteness. "Kawaii!" I picked up the little Spirit and carried it all the way to the train station.

It was still quite early in the morning, so there weren't many people on the station. Luckily I didn't see any Fairy Tail members there either. One of the train guards told me to call back my Spirit, because _animals_ weren't allowed on the trains. I really wanted to give him a Lucy-Kick to the face for calling my Spirits animals, but did what I was told and called Plue back.

I boarded the first train that arrived, found a booth and looked out of the window at the passing landscape. It had been a pair of hours, maybe more since I'd gotten my insignia removed. Was the guild member awake now? When would they realize I was gone? _Would_ they realize I was gone?

**At the guild, Fairy Tail**

**Carla's P.O.V**

It was in the morning, for Fairy Tail anyway, the rest of Magnolia was probably up and buzzing long ago.  
I sat in the corner of the guild with Juvia and Wendy. Gajeel was sulking in the shadows, in the corner on the other side of the guild; chewing on some metal, he'd gotten from who knows where, with Pantherlily close by.

The mood in the guild had been a little tense the other night, but it was back to normal now, although no one went near Wendy, me, Juvia, Gajeel or Pantherlily, as if they were afraid of us or something.

Team Natsu, including Lisanna, sat near the entrance of the guild. Natsu and Gray were butting their heads against each other as always, and throwing insults at each other. Erza was sitting on the bench eating strawberry cake, talking to Lisanna who was giggling at the boys' antics and Happy was with them eating a fish. Natsu still had a few scratches from taking an iron-roar in the face, but was healing nicely. They hadn't asked Wendy to heal him yesterday, because of the tension between them, so he was healing the natural way, that much he _had_ felt. Gray also still was a little red where Juvia had hit him, but it didn't seem to be a bother.

Cana was drinking booze from a barrel as always and Wakaba and Macao were watching her drink from afar, little Romeo was with them. Mira was serving at the bar with her bright smile. Alzack and Bisca were chatting at one of the tables. The Raijinshuu, Freed, Bickslow and Evergreen, were all watching Laxus, who was standing on the upper floor for the S-class mages, with admiration in their eyes. Team Shadowgear, Jet, Droy and Levy were sitting together at the bar, Levy reading a book and the two others watching her. Elfman was standing near the bar and kept on telling Mira what was 'manly' and what was not.

Wendy, Juvia and I were silently watching the other members of our guild, when the doors were kicked off its hinges, and a black suited man with a red tie and orange uncontrollable hair that looked similar to a mane, stood where the door, which now lay on the floor, once were. He had a red aura around him, filled with anger. Loke, Lucy's Lion Spirit.

I gasped. It was like in my vision, also the door being pushed off its hinges.

The whole guild fell silent and watched Loke, as he scanned the guild for something. I already knew what he was looking for. He found his target and his anger rose even more, if possible, just by looking at them. "_YOU_! YOU MADE LUCY CRY! I'LL MAKE YOU PAY FOR WHAT YOU'VE DONE!" He roared on the top of his lungs, he walked over to his target, like a Lion hunting its prey, and gave Erza an uppercut under her chin.

The whole guild gasped or looked wide eyed at him for his bravery at hitting Erza like that. He roughly grabbed her chin to look into her eyes as he spoke. "Erza _Scarlet_, also known as _Titania_, the _almighty_ Fairy Queen of Fairy Tail.'' Loke said mockingly. "Do you know what you _were_ to Lucy? _DO YOU_?!" He hissed in her face. "You were like the big sister, she never had. A BIG SISTER, Erza. YOU should know how much she TREASURES her nakama and ESPECIALLY the members of Team Natsu!" He yelled and let go of her, leaving her speechless.

He swiftly moved to Gray and kneed him in the gut; Gray coughed some blood up from the impact. Loke pushed Gray down with a foot on his chest. "Gray Fullbuster, someone I THOUGHT was a loyal friend. It _seems_ I was mistaken, go find another partner for the S-Class exam, there's no way in HELL _I'm_ going with _you_!" He spat in his face then leaned down to get closer; Gray just stared at him unable to say anything. "But this is not about me. It's about _Lucy_." Loke said more calm. But it was a _deadly_ calm.  
Master Makarov came out of his office and saw the scene before him, but did nothing, he just watched with sad and disappointed eyes.

Loke continued, not noticing Master Makarov, or not caring. "Do you know what you _were_ to her? You were her, and I quote what she's told me _several_ times, _'loving'_ and _'caring'_ big brother." Loke said with his scary calm voice. The aura of pure anger that was around him had not calmed down whatsoever. He stepped off Gray and looked disappointed at him. "Think about _that_ for a while." He said. He turned around and faced Natsu. His anger seemingly skyrocketed and Natsu cowered in fear. _Natsu_ cowered in _fear_. Something only Erza could do. _Normally_.

I looked stunned at Loke; he did _everything_ he did in the vision, down to the smallest detail. Everything he said seemed to hit spot on, that Lion had a way with words.

Loke growled, very similar to a Lion, and looked at the frightened Natsu through his sunglasses. "_YOU_." He started menacingly. "You are the one of you all who _disgust_ me the most." Loke grabbed Natsu's vest and lifted him off the ground in a display of brute strength. "_You_ were supposed to be her _best friend_. _You_ were supposed to see how _lonely_ she was, _you_ were supposed to cheer her up! But you _didn't_! You let _someone else_ take the trash and cheer her up. And to them I am thankful. But YOU on the other hand-" Loke pushed Natsu up against the wall and punched him in the face, a cracking noise was heard, and Natsu cried out in pain.

"Natsu!" Lisanna cried out and was about to come to Natsu's rescue, when Loke shot her a glare. She went back to where she sat, terrified of the Lion Spirit, and Loke fixed his gaze on Natsu again, whose nose was now bleeding.

He continued. "YOU, of all people, are the _thrash_ around here." Loke let go of him and he fell to the ground with a grunt. "Get _out_ of my sight. I don't want to_ ever _see you again, unless it is to beg for forgiveness. _Any of you_." He said and looked at the two others, to indicate that the same conditions went for the other two. Loke's gaze lingered a little longer on Gray; he then shook his head in disappointment and turned his back to the three of them. That simple action seemed to hit Gray harder than a knee _ever_ could.

Loke fixed his suit jacket and looked at the rest of the guild members, gracefully skipping Wendy, Juvia, Gajeel, Pantherlily and I. He then spoke to the whole guild. "I know you know that Lucy was the beacon of light for this guild from day one. Even I knew it, and I tried my best to avoid her. You have all hurt that beacon, take a minute and think over your actions." Loke said and then disappeared back into the Spirit World.

Everyone was stunned with the show and unable to move or say anything. They just looked at where Loke was just a second ago. Lisanna was the one to break the silence. "Natsu!" She ran over to Natsu, who had a broken nose. She turned around and looked at Wendy, as the first person of the day to do so. "_Wendy_! Come and heal him!" Wendy was about to stand up, but I blocked her with my paw and shook my head, tears rolling down my face. Wendy sat down again, and looked away from Natsu. The guild slowly began to regain mobility, and many ran to Team Natsu to help with the injuries. They helped getting the three to the infirmary, and I just watched with slight disgust at it all.

What _happened_ to Fairy Tail? Why were they _helping_ those who went behind someone else's back? Why were they helping the _traitors _instead of the one person who really _needed _help? The one who was looking right into the eyes of death in the form of a black Dragon.

I was just about to tell Juvia and Wendy about the vision that I was now certain was true, but was stopped by Master Makarov. "Gajeel, Lily, Wendy, Carla and Juvia, please follow me to my office, I have something to talk to you all about." We all nodded and followed Makarov. I sighed in exasperation, Wendy looked at me questioningly and I just shook my head.

We all went into the Masters office and sat down. I in Wendy's lap and Pantherlily on Gajeel's head. Gajeel sat in the middle with Wendy on his right and Juvia on his left. Master Makarov stood on his desk with his hands behind his back. He looked alternately at the three mages, and then held out three letters to each of them without uttering a word. Gajeel was the first to take his. _'Gajeel and Pantherlily'_ were written beautifully on it. The two girls reached for theirs. I read the names on the letter Wendy was holding, _'Wendy and Carla'_ were written with the same beautiful writing as on Gajeel and Pantherlily's.  
Wendy and I exchanged gazes; we both knew who wrote those letters.

Gajeel broke the silence. "Oi, Ojii. What's this all about?" Gajeel asked in his usual rude manner. Master Makarov sighed.

"They're from Lucy. Open them and read, I'm certain they'll explain the situation." He then said and we all opened the letters.

**At the guild Fairy Tail, Master Makarov's office**

**Juvia's P.O.V**

Juvia opened the letter Master gave them with Juvia's name written beautifully on the cover. Juvia took out the paper inside and began reading.

_Dear Juvia.  
I know we haven't spoken much before, but in the last three weeks, I've come to feel for you as a sister, I wish it hadn't happened in such circumstances, but nonetheless I'm thankful. I don't know if you had a suspicion about this, but I've left the guild._

Juvia moved her hand to her mouth and a tear slipped from her eye and landed on the paper. Outside it began dripping ever so slightly.

_By the time you're reading this, I'm already off on a train and to explore something new. I'm going to train and become stronger; you won't even recognize me when I come back! Anyway, I'm going to miss you as well as Wendy, Carla, Gajeel, Pantherlily and Mas- no it's just Makarov now, isn't it? Oh yeah, you have Gray all for yourself now! At least I won't be one of your Love-Rivals. Please don't go looking for me, I need this time to be alone and sort everything out. Come to think about it, you aren't so much the one I suspect of coming looking for me as it is a certain Iron Dragon Slayer. I don't know when I'll be back, but I _will_ be back, so just have a little patience with me. Also, don't tell the other guild members until they ask about me, I've left something for them in my apartment, but I want them to figure it out themselves. However they only have one month, then the Landlady will send it to Fairy Tail.  
~ Lucy Heartfilia_

The tears were pouring down Juvia's face, when Juvia reached the end of the letter. The rain was beating the window in a fast, but steady, rhythm. But Juvia doesn't want Gray all for herself. "Lucy." Juvia whispered.

**Gajeel's P.O.V**

I opened the letter and began reading, with Lily reading on my head.

_Hey Gajeel and Pantherlily.  
These past three weeks I've gotten to know you two a lot! Gajeel, you've opened up to me in a way Natsu has never done before. Sure he talks a lot about Igneel and how much he misses him and all, but he never really told me anything else than that. Anyway, thank you for being there when I needed someone the most, I am happy to say, that you have taken Natsu's spot as my best friend Gajeel and Pantherlily you've taken Happy's._

I smirked toothily as I read it. I'd taken the Salamander's place in Bunny-Girl's heart. I was proud of myself actually. Lily too was proud and smiling at the knowledge of him having taken Happy's face. Our smiles quickly faltered as we read on.

_I'm sorry I haven't told the two of you before, but I'm leaving Fairy Tail for a while. Don't come looking for me, please, I'm already far away as you read. I need some time alone right now, but I'll come back. Stronger than ever! Maybe we can have a battle? I don't know when I'll come back, but please be a little patient. Also it would be much appreciated if you don't tell anyone in the guild until they ask about my whereabouts. I've left a letter in my apartment, and it'll lie there for a month, if Team Natsu or anyone else doesn't find it until then, the Landlady will send it to Fairy Tail.  
~ Your Best friend Lucy Heartfilia_

I just stared at the letter, trying to find some hidden message, telling me it was a lie. I found none. I noticed the rain plummeting outside, and knew Juvia didn't have the same control over the weather, as she did the other day. I could smell the salty scent of tears in the room. I felt a drop of water trailing down my forehead and all the way down my face. I could smell that it was Lily's tear I closed my eyes and bowed my head, making sure Lily wouldn't fall off in the meantime.

"Bunny-Girl." I muttered.

**Wendy's P.O.V**

Slowly and carefully, I opened Carla's and my letter, I already knew who this letter was from, and I had an idea about what it would tell us. I held the little paper low enough for Carla to be able to read at the same time.

_Sweet, sweet Wendy and Carla.  
You two are an amazing pair of girls. The last three weeks I've gotten even closer to the two of you, and you're both like sisters to me. I don't know how I would've survived these days without the two of you. I'm going to miss the both of you, and I'm sure you already know what I'm about to say._

Carla's eyes widened and she tensed in my lap; I felt a tear trail down my cheek. I closed my eyes shortly to get the tears away and began reading again.

_I've left Fairy Tail, I'll come back, I don't know when, but I'll come back some day. I know that Gajeel will go looking for me as soon as he gets the chance, but please stop him; it's for his own good. I am already far away now, I'm still uncertain about where I'll go, but I'll train and come back stronger than I was before. Please don't tell the rest of the guild until they ask, I've left a letter for them at my apartment, and if no one finds it after a month has passed, the Landlady will send it to Fairy Tail.  
~ Lucy, your sister._

I had a hard time reading the last sentences, because the tears kept blurring my eyes, but I did read them. I'd known for a while that it would end like this, Lucy-san leaving Fairy Tail, but it didn't make it less painful. I heard the rain drumming on the window, faster and faster. I could smell the tears of Juvia-san and Pantherlily. Carla was completely frozen in my lap; she didn't say or do anything.

"Lucy-san." I whispered before I too joined the crying.

**I don't know how old Layla really is when Lucy is 10, so I'm just going to say 25. Yes, I know that is quite young, but there'll come an explanation for that later, I promise. ;)**

**I'm not sure if I spelled 'Raijinshuu' or 'Ojii' correctly either, but please bear with me if I didn't and tell me if I did! **

**Thank you StitchedSanity, Merilwen-Vendethiel, Anonymous (Guest), nelly99, Zades, Your Ojou-Sama, GingerLily01, BlueFiestaMockingjayPie, Coolanime14, manic kitty, BubblesDoujinshi, huntybutt, Zoheleth, The Hand Of Chaos, MissSuzugamori and all you other readers out there! As I said before, you all inspire me to continue writing! ^_^**

**~Line464d**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

**Phew, it takes so much longer to write these chapters (Brushes off imaginary sweat on my forehead), but it's certainly worth it. I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made. R&R!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own Fairy Tail or anything in it.**

**At the Fairy Tail guild, in Master Makarov's office**

**Master Makarov's P.O.V**

I watched silently as my children grieved at the loss of their precious friend and family. I myself had no more tears to cry, I'd taken care of that earlier. I looked out of the window and at the falling rain, wondering where the blonde could be now. After a while of sobbing, the crying died down a little.

"She came into my office early this morning and got her insignia removed." I said with a hoarse voice, even though I couldn't cry, my voice acted as if I had. "It pains me to say that she's probably better off not being in the guild for some time.." I trailed off. A crash was heard, and Gajeel stood up with Pantherlily on his head, trying to keep his balance. His chair lay on the floor, and he wore a pissed expression.

"She can't just tell me _that_ and then up and leave! I'm going _after_ her!" Gajeel said and turned around to walk out of the door, but was stopped by a red blade. Pantherlily was in his Battle form and blocked the entrance with his sword. He shook his head.

"Gajeel, she said to _not_ go looking for her, the least you can do is to accept her word and respect them." Pantherlily said. Gajeel glared at him, but then gave in huffing in annoyance, picked up his chair and sat down again. Pantherlily went into his Chibi form and stood on Gajeel's head with crossed paws and a scowl.

I smiled at the sight. I wondered what it was that Lucy told Gajeel, that could gain that reaction from him, but I said nothing. Wendy did however.

"What did Lucy-san tell you, that is so important?" She asked and looking at Gajeel with red, puffy eyes.

Gajeel looked at her and grinned. "Gihi. She told me that _I_ had taken _Flame-Brains_ place." He ruffled the little bluenettes hair. "And Lily is now the new Happy!" He added, grinning wider. Pantherlily nodded and smiled a satisfied smile as well, still with crossed paws. Everyone dropped their jaws, with the exception of Carla, who was still frozen on the spot.

"Y-yo-you- WHAT?! You _replaced_ Natsu?!" I yelled in utter and complete shock. Since _when_ did _Gajeel_ take _Natsu's_ place in the young blonde's heart? I looked at Pantherlily. "And you took Happy's?! WHAT IS _HAPPENING_ HERE?!" I continued in frustration. Well, isn't this ironic? If Gajeel and Pantherlily had taken Natsu and Happy's place then...

"I guess that _is_ to be expected," the black Neko said on Gajeel's head. We all turned our attention to him, Juvia and Wendy wide eyed. How could the little guy _expect _something like this? "Since Natsu kicked her off the team like he did, and Gajeel and I have been there for her instead of Natsu and Happy. It's only natural I'd say." He ended with a nod.

I considered the black Neko's words, and then nodded in agreement; there were some truth behind his words. "You have a point there Pantherlily. But it _is_ Natsu and Happy we're talking about, it is quite a feat you two have made." I then smiled my signature nice-old-man-smile. Gajeel grinned at me. A silence fell over our little group.

"Oh yeah, there's the S-Class exams soon, so you should begin to get ready." I told them, breaking the silence. Gajeel's face lit up. Carla seemingly got out of her frozen state, and looked around confused.

"Is there going to be battles?" Gajeel asked eagerly, almost jumping in his seat. Wendy and I sweat dropped.

"Yes Gajeel, there'll be battles." I confirmed. Gajeel almost sprang up from his seat and was about to walk out of the room, when Carla stopped him.

"I have something to say, Gajeel you may want to hear this." She said and looked at him from where she sat on Wendy's lap. I had kept an eye on the white Neko, she'd been a little out if it ever since the incident with Loke, and she still looked shaky.

"What is it my child?" I asked concerned with my little family member. She hesitated long enough for Wendy to interrupt.

"Is it about the vision you had yesterday?" She carefully asked. Carla looked at her with slightly widened eyes. The white Neko nodded slowly and looked down at her paws.

"Yes, that's right, it's about my vision." She looked up at me. "I got the vision right before Team Natsu kicked Lucy off the team. It showed me Team Natsu and Lisanna walking up to our table, as the first thing. Next it showed me when Gray told her Lisanna replaced Lucy and Natsu told her she was weak." Gajeel, who was standing near the door, scowled as he probably remembered the whole thing. "Then I saw Lucy in a forest, screaming out her grief and crying like she'd never cried before. Next came the scene with Loke and Team Natsu, you know, what happened just now. The last scene I saw-" she shuddered. "Was the part I didn't want to understand, it's the reason I did not believe the vision to be true, but when Loke did that scene exactly as he did in the vision, I just couldn't ignore it." A tear fell from the poor Neko's eye. "I-I saw L-Lucy walk through an eerie f-forest, and s-suddenly a D-Dragon appeared a-and roared. Then i-it lunged at L-Lucy, and then the v-vision ended." She sobbed and wiped her eyes.

I stared at my child. Lucy... She's going to be attacked by a Dragon. She's going to... She's not strong enough to...

I couldn't end my train of thought as Gajeel yelled. "HELL NO! I'm not letting Lucy _DIE_ by the hands of a friggin' _Dragon_! You _can't_ stop me now; I'm going after her!" Gajeel yelled and stormed out of the door, Pantherlily following close behind.

The rain that had calmed down a little began pounding again, as Juvia, who had remained silent through it all, cried again. Wendy reached for her and stroke her arm as tears fell from her eyes as well. I walked to the two girls and pulled them into a hug.

I decided that I'd stay in my office with the three girls, if anyone could reach Lucy in time, it'd be Gajeel. But it's so long ago she got it removed, maybe it's too late.

**In the train**

**Lucy's P.O.V**

I stared out of the window and remembered all the good and bad times I'd had with Team Natsu and Fairy Tail.

"So _those_ times has come to an end, have they?" I muttered to myself, watching the passing landscape. A warm glow suddenly enveloped my booth, and I felt a strong arm over my shoulder, and the presence of another person. I looked at the person next to me.

"Sorry Princess. I had an... _Errand_ I had to take care of and it took longer than expected." Loke said with a smile. "I hope I didn't keep you waiting Beautiful." He flirted. I huffed in annoyance. Why did he always have to do that?

"No, no it's fine. What was your _errand_?" I asked, quite curious about what my Spirit had to do.

"Oh, there were some people I had to _talk_ to." He said, emphasizing 'talk'. "Nothing too important." He said with his bright smile. I looked at him, and knew that I wouldn't get more out of him.

"Whatever you say." I muttered while wondering who he had business with. I lay my head on his shoulder and found comfort in his presence. The two of us sat in silence and watched the people passing by our booth. Two children ran past our booth several times. They looked around the age of 10 or so. There was one blonde and one black-haired.

"Rogue! Have you found a booth yet?" One of them yelled at his friend.

"No Sting, they're all taken." The other answered his friend calmly.

"Okay." The first said irritated. "Then we'll just _have_ to sit here then." He said and a thump was heard as he fell to the floor. The other boy seemingly hesitated, but then joined his friend on the floor.

I decided to invite the two boys into our both, as there was more than enough place in our booth. I opened the door and looked at the two boys sitting on the floor. "You two." I called out to them. They looked at me quizzically. The blonde had sky-blue eyes, and his hair shot out in every direction, a little like Natsu's. He wore a sand-colored t-shirt that sat a little tight on his already well-developed body. He wore light gray shorts and flats. The black-haired boy had blood-red eyes and his hair lay flatly on his head, his bangs covering his right eye. He wore a loose gray t-shirt, loose black jeans and black sandals. "You can come into our booth, there's enough space for you too." I smiled at them. The blondes face lit up in a bright smile.

"Thank you _Lady_!" He said and jumped up. The other boy got up more calmly. I held the door as the blonde boy ran into the room and sat on the opposite seat of Loke. The black-haired stopped up in front of me and looked at me with his blood-red eyes expressionlessly. He stretched out his hand for a handshake.

"Hello Miss. I apologize for my friends' rude behavior." He said, the blonde pouted and stuck out his tongue. "I am Rouge Cheney." He said and gestured to his friend. "And this is my friend Sting Eucliffe. Thank you for sharing your booth with us." He said politely. I was taken aback by the boys' wide vocabulary and manners.

I quickly regained my composure and shook the boys' hand, with my signature smile. "Hi Rogue. I'm Lucy Heartfilia and this is my Spirit, Loke." I said as Loke raised his hand in a greeting manner. "And you're welcome." I let go of Rogues hand, and he went to sit down next to Sting. I closed the door behind me and sat down again next to Loke.

The two boys looked curiously at me and Sting tilted his head as his blue eyes pierced my brown ones. "Where have I seen you before?" He asked me outright. I was baffled by his question, but didn't get to answer as Rogue spoke.

"You said Loke is your Spirit. Does that mean that you're a Stellar mage?" He asked. I nodded slowly, uncertain about what the boys were thinking. "You shouldn't be the Stellar mage of _Fairy_ _Tail_, are you, Miss Heartfilia?" He then asked. My eyes widened slightly at the boys question, and Loke's arm, which was resting on my shoulder again, tensed.

"Yeah, I was _that_ Lucy Heartfilia, and please call me Lucy." I smiled at the two boys. Their eyes widened, and this time even Rouge grinned.

"So do you know Natsu/Gajeel?" They asked simultaneously, Sting asking about Natsu and Rouge about Gajeel. I giggled at them.

"Yes, as a matter of fact, I do. Natsu _was_ my best friend, now Gajeel is." I smiled as the two boys faces lit up even more, if possible. Loke, however, pouted next to me.

"What about me, Princess, am I not your best friend?" He asked, faking a hurt expression. The two boys giggled at him. I smiled to him warmly.

"Loke, our bond can't be measured in friendship. You're my _Spirit_, our relationship is closer than _'friends'_." I said, and then realized my mistake. Loke threw his arms around me and purred like a cat. A _big_ cat.

"We're closer than friends? Aww Lucy, have you finally realized your love for me?" He purred at me. I tried pushing him away, but couldn't as he was much stronger than me physically. The two boys were caught in a fit of laughter at Loke's purring and lovesickness.

"No, Loke I didn't mean like in _love_, I meant like in-" I cut off and looked at my Lion Spirits' smirking face. "You know _exactly_ what I mean!" I then said in a high pitched voice. He let go of me and then held his face between his thumb and index finger in thought, resting his elbow in the palm of his other hand.

"I have to think out a way for you to _realize_ your love for me." Loke muttered thoughtfully, sending the boys into another round of laughter. I giggled a little at the two boys and my Spirit as well.

After a little while, the laughter had died down, and Sting then seemed to realize something. "You said that you _were_ the Stellar mage of Fairy Tail, what do you mean _'were'_?" Sting asked curiously.

Rogue seemed to realize too and added to his friends' question. "Yeah, you also said that the Salamander _was_ you best friend, and that Gajeel now _is_. What does that mean?" Rogue asked, he'd fixed his face into the serious expression he also used before.

I looked between the two boys, contemplating whether I should tell the two boys or not. I decided to let out a little white lie.

"Yes, I have decided to take some years off to train and become stronger, because I felt I let my team down a little." I said. It was only a half lie, I sometimes really felt that I drew my- Team Natsu down, when I was on the team, and I also _was_ going out to train. Loke looked at me with concerned eyes hidden behind his glasses and his arm around his shoulder tightened a little in a comforting manner, Rogue seemingly noticed, but didn't say anything. "And Natsu have been my best friend for a long time, but over these past three weeks I've spoken a lot with Gajeel and gotten to know him, while Natsu was hanging with an old childhood friend that had been lost, but has now come back. And so we kinda just... _Slipped_ away from each other." I smiled weakly at the two boys. Sting formed an 'o' with his mouth in understanding.

Rogue nodded. "I see, but _I_ don't think you're weak. You've kept your Spirit Loke out for a while, haven't you?" He asked and sent Loke a glance.

Loke smiled widely. "No, my Princess is definitely _not_ weak, it's just something she's walking around thinking for some odd reason, but actually I'm using my _own_ power to be out right now. It's because our bond is forged with love~!" Loke exclaimed and tried to hug me again, but I held him away with one hand on his head and sighed exasperatedly. Sting grinned at the lovesick Spirit.

"What he's _trying_ to say is that our bond as _mage_ and _Spirit_, not _love_-" I said and shot my Spirit a glare. "Is so close that he can freely go in and out of his gate with his own power, one of my other Spirits is able to do that as well." I explained as Loke gave up and pouted, having a gloomy aura around him. Sting kept up his goofy grin, and he looked surprisingly much like Natsu.

"That's quite rare for a Spirit to be able to do so, isn't it?" Rogue asked.

"Yeah, it is." Loke answered with a toothy smile, suddenly over his gloominess. Rogue and I sweat dropped at his sudden change of mood.

A silence fell on the booth, as no one had anything to say. After a while I felt I had to say something. "So where are the two of you going?" I asked.

"We're going to Sabertooth in the city Galiavas!" Sting said eagerly and with a grin plastered on his face. "Originally we wanted to be in Fairy Tail, but then we heard about the guilds' super strong mages and how it had potential to be Fiores _strongest_, so we decided we'd try it out. Then maybe we will also get to fight Natsu and Gajeel!" He then added.

"Oh, so you want to be mages? What kind of magic do you use?" I asked genuinely curious about the boys' magic.

"I'm a Light Dragon Slayer and Rouge's a Shadow Dragon Slayer!" Sting exclaimed happily. If I had had water in her mouth, I would have sprouted it all over the young Dragon Slayers' faces. I looked at them wide eyed. Loke seemed surprised as well.

"_You're_ Dragon Slayers?!" I asked in complete shock. They both nodded, Sting with a proud smirk. "Wow, I never expected that. You two will become _strong_ mages, I'm sure of it!" I said with my warm smile. Rogues lips curved up a little.

"Thanks Lucy. Where are you going?" Rogue asked. I thought about that for a moment.

"I don't know actually." I then decided to say. "Wherever fate decides to take me." I smiled.

"Well _that's_ reassuring." Loke muttered sarcastically under his breath, which earned him a punch to the face by me, whose vein had popped. Sting giggled again at the two of us. Were we really _that_ amusing to watch? I asked myself.

"Well, that sounds exciting." Rogue said kindly. Then our conversation was set on a halt as the radio sounded.

"We have reached the city Galiavas, if this is your destination, please prepare to leave. I repeat. We have reached the city Galiavas, if this is your destination, please prepare to leave." A monotone radio-voice said.

"Oh well, this seems to be our stop." Rogue said with a hint of sadness tinting his voice. "It was nice speaking with you, Lucy." He smiled genuinely.

"Yeah it was! I'll remember you!" Sting chimed in. He got up and hugged me, surprising everyone in the booth. He looked up at me with his beautiful sky-blue eyes. "Thank you for letting us in your booth!" He then smiled. I replied with a smile and ruffled his and Rogue's hair.

"It was my pleasure. I'll remember the two of you too." I said with a soft voice.

Ding-ding

Then the train stopped, and we'd reached Galiavas. The boys waved goodbye and walked out of the train. I waved back at them from my booth and watched them leave, and still stared out of the window as the train began rolling again. Loke still had his arm draped over my shoulder, making me feel comfortable in his presence.

**At the guild Fairy Tail **

**Gajeel's P.O.V**

I stormed out of Ojii's office and walked fast to the double doors of the guild, with Lily in tow, earning weird looks from the people in the guild hall. I didn't care though; I _had_ to find Bunny-Girl. Most preferably _before_ anything happened. I was not letting Bunny-Girl die by the hands of a Dragon, not as long as I was a Dragon Slayer. Dammit, that was what I was trained to do! Slaying Dragons!

The doors still lay on the floor from Loke's fit of rage, so I just went straight out in the cold rain. I tried to sniff out Bunny-Girl's scent, but it was being washed away by the constant raining.

"Do you smell anything?" Lily asked while floating with his angel-like wings next to my head.

"Damn." I muttered. "I can't find her scent because of the rain." I sniffed around a little more, and finally I caught her scent of vanilla and strawberries. It was already extremely faint, as it had been raining a lot and it was quite some time ago she made the trail, which also meant that she could be just about _anywhere_.

"There!" I yelled and we followed the trail, ending up at her apartment. I could smell that it had been hours since she'd been there.

I followed the trail that led away from the apartment and ended up at a little yellow house. I couldn't smell who it belonged to, and couldn't figure out why Lucy had been there, but decided to brush it off and follow the faint trail of her fading scent.

The rain was still pouring, not as much as before, but still a lot. I was soaked from head to toe, and so was Lily, but we didn't much care. We were at risk of losing the one person; we did _not_ want to lose.

After walking a while, following the trail, I ended up at the train station.

"Damn, damn, _damn_!" I muttered as I knew that it would be near _impossible_ to find her, if she took the train.

Lily went to the ticket booth and asked the man if he'd seen Bunny-Girl, but he answered that he had just shifted with someone else, and that he couldn't have seen her. After getting over the shock of a talking cat with wings.

I had heard their little conversation with my Dragon Slayer hearing, of course, and felt my magic pressure rising in anger and defeat. I was too late.

I stomped out of the station and ran into the nearest forest in the outskirts of Magnolia, not caring if my Exceed followed me or not, my magic pressure building higher and higher all the way.

I went deep into the forest, and when I felt I was far enough away from everything, I roared at the sky. I roared out all of my _anger_ at the Dragon and Team Natsu, pain of the _loss_ of someone precious and _disappointment_ in myself, all mixed up with my skyrocketing magic pressure.

The small iron-atoms in the ground were pulled up from underground and swirled around me in an uncontrollable inferno of wind and metal. Surrounding trees and wildlife was pulled up from the ground by their roots, and swirled around me in a frenzy, making it deadly to go near me.

From the outside it looked like a tornado had trapped me in the center of it with trees, plants and small clads of metal swirling around me in a whirlwind. But when you came closer, you could feel the pressure of my magic, and would be pinned to the ground by its gravity.

I had never had a surge of power like that ever before. It felt fantastic and horrible at the same time. I could feel it course throughout my veins, leaving a trail of warmth. At the same time my whole body ached in pain, especially in my chest was the pain extraordinary.

Finally I had no more air in my lungs, and as my roar fell silent, the tornado of magical energy also subsided, along with the rush of power and pain I'd felt. Except the one in the chest, it still hurt.

I fell to his knees panting and with my hands in my hair, grabbing it roughly, as I felt a wave of fatigue flood over me with the sudden loss of magic.

Small dots appeared in my vision, and I fell into the calm blackness.

**At the guild Fairy Tail**

**Juvia's P.O.V**

Juvia cried as Gajeel stormed out of Master's office. She had lost control of her magic, and the rain poured outside. Love-Ri- No, Lucy-sama can't die. It is just a misunderstanding. Carla misunderstood the situation. And weren't the Dragons all gone? Yeah they were. But, Carla's visions always come true...

"No!" Juvia yelled. Master, Wendy and Carla pulled back and looked at Juvia. Wendy and Carla with red, puffy eyes. Master with blank eyes. "Juvia _refuses_ to believe that Lucy-sama will die!" Juvia exclaimed. They both looked stunned at her.

"Lucy-_sama_? Since when did you stop calling Lucy-san _'Love-Rival'_? And what's with the _'sama'_-part?" Wendy asked and looked at Juvia questioningly. Juvia turned her gaze to Wendy.

"Since right _now_." Juvia said. "Lucy-sama will _not_ die by that Dragon. Juvia _refuses_ to believe it." Juvia repeated. She raised her hand in the 'L' symbol of Fairy Tail.

"Yeah!" Wendy said and raised her hand as well. Carla shook her head, but did the same with a smile, as well as she could with her paw.

"Yes. Lucy will _not_ die by that Dragon! Gajeel will reach her!" Master yelled and raised his hand in the 'L' symbol.

Then an iron clad hit the window and when Juvia looked out of the window, she sees a wild wind. Iron clads flew around and smashed into buildings and whatever else they could hit. The people on the streets struggle to cover themselves and run around like confused chickens to find somewhere to hide. But there was _something_ about it all. It seemed heavy somehow.

"Juvia thinks that is no _ordinary_ wind." Juvia said, noticing that the others had seen it all too.

"No Juvia, _that_ is no ordinary wind, I feel a great magic pressure behind it." Master muttered.

"And those Iron clads..." Wendy added.

"Gajeel!" They all said in unison, looking at each other. Carla still stared out of the window.

"Then... He was too late?" The white Neko said with sad eyes. Just as she finished her sentence, the wind fell silent, and the rain-clouds were gone. The sun shined again in Magnolia. But for six people and Exceeds, that sun had no meaning, they had their own personal ever-lasting cloud over their heads, which kept pouring.

**The infirmary **

**Natsu's P.O.V**

I was almost carried into the infirmary, because Wendy didn't want to heal me. Why didn't she anyway? She _always_ healed me, what's different now? And what the _hell_ made Loke so mad? What did it have to do with Luce? Aghh! It's so _confusing_.

Elfman, with the help of Lisanna and Jet, lifted me up in one of those white beds. Mirajane, Freed and Bixlow helped Erza in one next to me and Levy, Droy and Cana, surprisingly no Juvia, helped Ice Princess in the bed on the other side of the room.

"Why are Erza and Gray in beds? They weren't hit so badly." Bixlow asked somewhere at my right.

"I don't know actually. But they need to rest I guess." Lisanna said, looking at him, I think. She shifted her gaze to lock with mine. "Are you okay Natsu?" She asked me with a concerned look in her beautiful blue eyes, that I just couldn't seem to get enough of.

I moved my hand to my nose. "Yeah I think I-" I tried touching my nose, but pulled my hand away quickly and winced in pain as they made contact. "Ow! Alright I'm not _quite_ okay..." I admitted. My nose throbbed in pain, and all I could smell was my own blood. I looked at it, and it didn't sit where it used to. I looked up at Lisanna again. "Why can't we just get Wendy?" I asked.

Everyone in the room, except Lisanna, Erza and Ice Princess, sweat dropped.

Lisanna sat on the edge of the bed and looked at me. Her pretty white hair hanging in small bangs almost covering her eyes. "You see, Natsu. Wendy is talking with Master right now, but anyway, she's not healing you, because she doesn't have enough magic to do so." She smiled at me. I was confused, hadn't Wendy healed me many times before? Why can't she heal me now? But I decided to believe her, and just thought that she'd been training or something.

"Can't we get _Porlyusica_ then?" Every person in the room paled.

"Eh... Natsu. You know Porlyusica _hates_ humans, she won't come here to heal _your_ nose." Mira said somewhere behind Lisanna.

"Oh yeah. That's right, I forgot!" I smiled my toothy smile. "But what about my nose then?" I asked and pouted, but immediately stopped as it made my nose hurt even more.

"Well, _I'll_ just have to fix that." I saw Mira step into my view. She had a dark aura around her, her eyes were hid in shadows, but two yellow lights could be seen, and she cracked her knuckles. Was her hair floating around her head? Everyone stepped away from her, afraid of Demon Mirajane. I was terrified right alongside them. What did I do to _deserve_ this?!

I smiled at her the best I could, while being terrified out of my mind. "That isn't necessary Mira. My nose is _fine_, actually." I patted my nose with my index-finger, but winced in pain as soon as I made contact.  
I looked hopefully at Mira, but she still had her devilish aura. She stepped up to the bed, and immediately her devilish aura was gone, instead she smiled her usual smile. Everyone sweat dropped, I don't know why.

"This is going to hurt a _little_." She said kindly. She reached out for my nose, and in a swift movement, she'd taken my nose in between her two hands and straightened it out. I cried out in pain, and felt a little hand stroke my leg. I looked down and saw Lisanna. She looked at me apologetically.

"You know it had to be done. Or you'd run around with a broken nose the rest of your life." She smiled her kind smile. I nodded and sent her my signature grin. It'll be fine. I looked around in the room for a certain blonde. She wasn't there. She's probably on a mission. She said her rent is due, right?

A weird wind was blowing outside; the windows were hidden behind the curtains, so I couldn't see it. It didn't matter anyway, it's just a wind.

**In the train **

**Lucy's P.O.V**

Loke had just left to the Spirit World to restore his magic. Even though he's been in Earthland in three years straight, give or take, he told me that it hurt when he was out too long. Besides, he, as well as my other Spirits, also got tired from their loss of magic.

So now I sat down in the train all alone, nothing to keep me from thinking about Fairy Tail and its members.

I remembered the Phantom Lord incident, where my Papa wanted me back in the mansion, so I could marry some stranger. How he found out I was in Fairy Tail is beyond me. Likewise with the fact that he hired a guild to take down Fairy Tail. A guild whose guild master hated Fairy Tail.

"We have reached the town Saraj, if this is your destination, please prepare to leave. I repeat, we have reached the town Saraj, if this is your destination, please prepare to leave." The speakers interrupted my thoughts.

"Might as well." I muttered, then stood up and got ready to leave. I decided that Saraj was where my training would begin. After a night sleep, that is. The sun was already setting, and soon it would become dark.

After getting out of the train station as one of the few, I looked around for somewhere to stay. The town had an old style, which made it all very pleasant, surprisingly. The houses were small and made in wood, with the exception of a few with red bricks. Not many people were walking around the streets like in Magnolia.

After some searching I found a good looking inn, an old lady kept. I paid for one night and went towards my room. I'd gotten a big lunch on the train, so I wasn't hungry now.

My room was little with a big bed, a drawer and a desk. It was all I would need for now; also I only planned on staying here for one night.

I locked the door, wrote a letter to my Mama, stripped off my clothes and went to sleep.

**In Saraj, next morning**

**Lucy's P.O.V**

I felt something on my shoulder. It was shaking me. It was annoying.

"Stop..." I muttered half asleep. It didn't stop, it kept shaking me. I turned my back to it, I think, and lay on my side. "Just five more minutes.."

"Hime-Sama, wake up. I've made breakfast for you." A female voice said flatly. Huh? _'Hime-Sama'_? Oh, Virgo!

I opened my eyes drowsily and looked at the pink-haired Maid Spirit. She was leaning over me with a hand on my shoulder. Behind her I could see the breakfast she'd made for me. When I thought about it, I could also smell it. "Punishment, Hime-Sama?"

"No, Virgo not today. And thanks." I got up and went to the desk where Virgo had prepared the breakfast. I ate it and quickly took a bath and changed into the clothes Virgo had brought. A tight navy-blue top with a golden curly pattern and a white skirt. I made the same high ponytail as I'd worn the day before

"Hime-Sama, there's a forest West from here, it seems empty and it's quite wide. It is a great training spot." Virgo said, staring at me with her blue, piercing eyes. I smiled at her.

"Thanks Virgo, I'll go there and train. You can go back now." I said. Virgo saluted and disappeared in a golden light.

I packed the last of my things, even though it wasn't much, as I had stored it all in the Spirit World. I put on the white leather-jacket from yesterday; I had grown quite fond of it.

I went out and walked towards the West, and soon I found the forest. Saraj was at max a quarter the size of Magnolia, and was surprisingly fast to guide through.

The forest seemed somewhat scary. The only tree to be seen was pine-trees, and _only_ pine-trees. A heavy fog surrounded the trees and lay close to the ground, making it impossible to see more than a pair of meters into the forest. It was also completely silent, not even the rustling of abreeze was heard, it had an eerie feeling to it. Even though the sun was high in the sky, the forest seemed dark, as if it was in the middle of the night. All in all quite an ominous forest.

"Oh well. Why not go into the scary and ominous forest and train? Yeah, good idea, Virgo, _thank_ you." I said sarcastically, but even though I said that, I went into the forest.

I think I had walked for over an hour. Loke had made a short visit some time ago to tell me he had a meeting with Moustache-man, or more commonly known as the Spirit King, and said he'd be unable to be with me for the day, but that the rest of my Spirits were happy to come keep me company, except Aquarius, maybe.

So now I was walking alone through this damn creepy forest, because I didn't want my Spirits to be bothered by my complaints.

My feet hurt and I was tired. I froze because the sun wasn't there to warm me up, and this forest was so scary. I walked a little further, and soon I found a little clearing. And it was really a clearing, the fog wasn't floating over this part, and it wasn't as dark as the surrounding forest. A ray of sun hit the ground, and as I stood in the middle I felt it heat up my face.

"This is where I'll stay and train, but for now, I'll just rest in the sun." I said out loud, as a breeze blew my hair in my face, and I fell down on the ground, lying on my back and looking up in the sky. "This is so nice." I whispered and closed my eyes in comfort.

**Alright, I have to go on a 14-days-long vacation with my family in a few days, so I'll post a new chapter just before I leave, which is in 4 days, if I got my math right, and then I'll post a chapter as soon as I get home. Is it okay with you guys? Most likely NONE OF YOU ARE READING THIS, but I'll just write it anyways~ **

**I thought it would be nice if Sting and Rogue appeared in this train. Just for the fun of it all. ****And as the city where Sabertooth lies in hasn't been mentioned, I just wrote a few letters and then ended it off with other letters, pretty much. ^_^' Yep, that's the easy way to make new names.**

**We'll meet Acnologia in the next chapter, guys. So keep hanging around! **

**Thank you to Natzuko, xxPerfectMistakexx, Lindzii, Guest, TheNewBlueMoon, sdren, Zades, Kimbooslice, TheWolfThatRunsFree, theawesomeguest (Guest), westerngoddess, Psychodella, Hayley Le, Guest, Ilovenagihiko08 (Guest), LittleBuddy12, booklover21567, myth48, blackcat486, KaylaBow, animegamernerd15, Eren23, Dishon, chibi Kirkland, blamekailey, xsphinxlady, Shugo Fairy 4eva, XxZoruaTheEpicxX, AM (Guest), Your Ojou-Sama, Flamestar072, Jakyrazzz, HannaHNEMI, XxmidnightssexynessxX and all you other readers for reading my story. (I apologize if I wrote something wrong, please tell me if I did!)**

**~ Line464d**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

**Yeah, as I said- no **_**wrote**_**, in chapter 5, I'll be going on a two-week long vacation sometime tomorrow, and I won't be able to upload a new chapter or anything while I'm there D':. Gomenasai minna! But I WILL be working on it there, that's for sure! And thank you SO SOSOSOSOSOSO much for following and liking and reviewing to this story all of you out there! I can't believe I'm already over 60 followers! All of your reviews has been AMAZING and they just light up a sunny day, almost making a drought (A comfortable one btw!)! – so that's why I'm always so thirsty… I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made. R&R!**

**Disclaimer: Hiro Mashima still doesn't share**

**Somewhere**

**Someone's P.O.V**

I felt a breeze on my dark scales. My nose caught a new, sweet scent. It was carried by the wind. It seemed familiar somehow, something I've been longing for.

I rose to my feet and shook off the dirt and what else was clinging to me.

"**Well let's see who my visitor is.**" I muttered. I spread out my wings and flapped them a few times to get in the air.

I lazily flew in the direction of the scent. I could still smell it. Vanilla and strawberries. It was a sweet scent, and it just irritated me how familiar it seemed.

No matter what it was, I'd be able to handle it.

Soon I could see the clearing where I often lay, because the sun shone through, and could smell the sweet scent came from there. I landed a little away from the familiar scent, as I didn't want to scare whatever it was.

People and animals usually ran away from me, I scared them. Well, I guess I wasn't the _nicest_ looking of my race, I _know_ that, but I wasn't _that_ bad, was I? I thought I looked quite bad ass, as a matter of fact.  
I walked as lightly as I could toward the smell, even though the ground still shook under my weight. Nothing I could do about it. As I walked, I tried my best to avoid breaking any trees, but it was quite hard, and it was no use, really.

I knew I was close to the scent, it was quite strong, but, as I expected, fear was now mixed into it. I sighed and walked forward and into the clearing. I looked down, and in the middle of the ray of sun, stood a beautiful blonde-haired girl with brown eyes and a curvaceous body. She had a belt with a whip and two small bags. She stared up at me with wide, frightened eyes. I looked down at her. It can't be _her_, can it? It's impossible, why would it be _her_?

Her scent welled over me again. It _is her_. The scent is the same. Why _didn't_ I realize? How could I forget _her_ scent?

I roared in victory, I had _finally_ found _her!_

**In the clearing **

**Lucy's P.O.V**

I lay in the ray of sun, letting it warm up my skin. Weird that a place like _this_ was found in the middle of a forest like _that_. Another breeze brushed past me and in the opposite direction of where I'd come from.

After a few moments in the delightful, silent warmth, I felt the ground shake. "An earthquake? No, there are no earthquakes around here. Then...?" I trailed off as several tremors, that seemed to get stronger and stronger, neared me. Is something big coming? Like, _really_ big?

I got up, and stood in a stance, ready to fight. I probably had no chance, if the thing was big enough to shake the ground like this, but I _had_ to fight. Didn't I?

A black shade appeared above the fog, and it was approaching me. So I was right, it _is_ a monster. I prepared myself for the oncoming fight to the death, for me anyway.

Soon the black shade was only few meters away, but the fog made it impossible for me to see what it was. It stepped out of the trees, and in front of me stood a Dragon in all its might.

It was black with curly, bright blue patterns here and there. It was bigger than the trees, maybe even the guild. Its belly was white and it had long sharp claws at its feet; I guessed it had razor-sharp teeth as well. At the sides of its head it fanned out in 5... Well, I don't know what to call them… also with the same black and those blue marks, two big and three smaller; the same with the end of its tail, except it was only two. And it looked at me with its black eyes. I shuddered under its gaze. I was dead meat.

We stood and stared at each other, me with wide eyes, but then it broke the silence with an almighty roar at the sky. It almost sounded _victorious_. Yeah, it _knew_ it had the upper hand.

I moved my hand to my whip, but the Dragon lunged at me almost instantly. I couldn't react; I was frozen on the spot. So _this_ is how I'm supposed to die, is it? Everything was in slow motion, as I looked at the Dragon and its face came closer and closer in a fast speed. It closed in on me, never hesitating as it came just an inch from my face.

Then it shone in a dark light and instead of having my head ripped off, strong arms circled around me and pulled me close into a hard chest. I was just utterly and completely stunned. _What just_ _happened?!_  
"I _finally_ found you." A deep male voice muttered, I could feel the chest of the man holding me rumble as he spoke, it seemed familiar to me, but I couldn't figure out _who_ he was. Most likely because I couldn't see him. "I finally found you." He repeated. I didn't know what to do or say. But I felt I had to say _something_.

"Uhm.." I started with a weak voice. "Excuse me for asking, but..." I hesitated a little before continuing. "Who are you?" I finally asked. I felt him tense, and then relax as he pulled back. Our gazes locked with each other's.

He had dark blue, almost black, eyes, which just captivated me somehow. He had a handsome face. His hair was black and then turned the same blue as on the Dragons' blue scales in the ends; it pointed out in every direction. He wore a bright blue shirt, matching the color of his hair; it clung to him in a way that showed his well-built torso, but still not too tight, and with a black leather jacket over it. He wore black jeans and black sneakers with the same blue colored laces. He was around the same height as Laxus, maybe a little lower and he was lean. He looked _very_ toned, but I didn't know for sure, as his leather jacket covered it quite efficiently. I _knew_ this guy. I knew him well, even though it's _years_ ago I last saw him.

He had a hurt look in his eyes and a soft expression. "You don't remember me?" He asked, his sad eyes looking into mine. He sighed and shifted his gaze to the sky. "Well it _is_ long time ago, and you were _so_ little-" He was cut off as I jumped and threw my arms around his neck, with tears rolling down my smiling face. I pressed my cheek into his. The fact that he was a Dragon just moments ago forgotten.

"Acnologia! I've missed you _so_ much!" I laughed while crying. I felt his arms carefully snaking around my waist. He dropped his forehead, so it rested on my shoulder.

"Lucy." He whispered and tightened his arms around me. "_Lucy!_" He laughed and twirled me around.  
We both laughed in joy at our reunion. It had been 7 years, almost 8 since I saw him. I'm 17 now, so he would be… 21.

He put me down on the ground gently and cupped my cheek with one hand, while the other tugged a loose strand of hair behind my ear. He smiled a soft and caring smile. I looked into his captivating blue eyes I had missed so much. I had only been with him in a week, yet he was so precious to me. He was the only other child I'd known in my childhood. My Papa hadn't allowed any visitors under the age of 20, so Acnologia was an _extremely_ rare exception. That was probably also why I had come so close to him so fast; I looked up to him then.

"I've missed you so much." He smiled. "_Where_ have you been? Last I looked in the Heartfilia Mansion; Jude told me you weren't there." He asked concerned. I still hadn't removed my gaze from his. Those dark blue eyes, imitating the sky in the early night, flooded me with comfort and relief.

"I ran away from Papa a little over a year ago, then I met a boy named Natsu Dragneel, and I joined the guild Fairy Tail." I smiled warmly at my childhood friend. He formed an 'o' with his mouth.

"That figures, you always spoke so much of that guild. I _should_ have looked there." He said in a low voice. Even though he had kind of said it before, I hadn't heard him.

"You were looking for me?" I asked incredulously. Why would he do that?

He looked at me surprised. "Well of _course_ I was. I have all this time." He said as if it was obvious. I just lifted my eyebrow urging him to explain. "The first year after _that_ week, which I'm sure you heard from your maids, my father and I tried to get into the mansion-" I nodded. "First by asking of permission to meet you, but Jude forbade it. Then we decided we'd try to break in and get you out of there, but there were too many guards. Then we trained for a bit and tried again, but my father was caught and now he's in jail under the Magic Council's watch in Crocus." Acnologia said with sad eyes, he averted his gaze to the ground. I reached out and stroke his arm for comfort. I hadn't spoken much to Kurama, Acnologia's father, but from what I had gathered he was a nice man. Acnologia continued his tale. "I went out to train, up until a half a year ago, where I decided to try again, but then you weren't there." He said still with sad eyes. That expression quickly faded and was replaced with an amused glint which appeared in his eyes. "I think your father's company went bankrupt after that ever so slowly." He grinned. I giggled a little. Then he pulled me into a hug again resting his chin on my head. I was pressed up against his hard chest, and I put my hands around him. We stood like that a while in blissful silence.

I found comfort in my long lost friend's strong embrace. It all was a little weird, as we were almost like strangers, yet it didn't feel like we were strangers at all, it felt natural. He had become so strong, I could feel his bulging muscles under his jacket and his chest was firm. His voice had become so deep, nothing like the boyish voice I remembered from when I first met him. He'd become so handsome since I last saw him! Wait.. _What_ am I _saying_?

I suddenly got the feeling that Acnologia was the last steadfast person, the last one I could really count on to always be with me. Yes I knew this was crazy, I just met the man after seven years, for Mavis' sake! But somehow I felt an unwavering trust in him, there was no way to explain it, I just did. I guess he was like what Igneel was for Natsu. Speaking of Dragons... How the _Hell_ could I forget that?

"Acnologia?" I asked a little weakly and still in his arms. He didn't let go, just gave me a 'Hm?' for me to continue. "Why the _Hell_ were you a _Dragon_?!" I almost yelled. I felt him grimace at the loud sound. I'd been too caught up in our reunion to remember he had just been a Dragon. How forgetful can a person be?

Acnologia chuckled above me; I felt it through my whole body. "I was wondering when you'd ask." He pulled back and looked into my eyes. "It's a long story, really." He paused and he seemed to be having an inner discussion about something. Then he focused his gaze on me again, with those amazing night-blue eyes. "I'll explain back at my cave, it's not long from here. I'll fly us there-" he grinned at me toothily, like the first day we met all those years ago. "-if _you're_ up for it." He teased. I grinned back at him.

"Oh, _I'm_ up for it. It's _you_ who's the problem." I teased back. He smiled wider, if possible, and a black light enveloped the both of us, and soon, instead of the human that stood in front of me, stood a black and blue Dragon with a white belly. It towered above me grinning. Now it was up close it could see it had night-blue eyes, not black.

To be honest, I was _far_ from used to the Dragon form of Acnologia, and I was a bit scared he would eat me for a second. But then he laid down flat on his stomach. "**Come on. Get up.**" He said with a deep voice, much deeper than before.

At first I was startled he could speak, but then remembered all Natsu's stories about Igneel. I nodded and crawled up on his back with difficulty, as his stomach was twice as big as me. I got up and sat where his neck connected with the rest of his body. I grabbed his scales tightly to steady myself. He spread his wings wide and looked at me with the corner of his eye. "**Are you ready?**" He asked grinning, I think.

"Yeah." I smiled. He nodded, and then flapped his wings a few times so we levitated above the ground. With another powerful flap of his wings, we rose above the trees. We flew slowly to his cave, maybe he was nervous I'd fall off. I giggled at the thought. I looked down at the forest. It looked like a big fluffy cloud with trees growing on it. It didn't look ominous from above; actually it looked pleasant in some way.

I enjoyed feeling the wind fly past and tugging my hair. I was calm, surprisingly, even though I was so high in the sky.

Soon I could see a mountain in the distance. "Is your cave in that mountain?" I yelled in the wind not sure if Acnologia could hear me.

"**Yeah, it's in that mountain.**" He told me, he didn't need to raise his voice, as it was crystal clear even with the harsh wind against us. I nodded even though I knew he couldn't see it.

We closed in on the mountain, and Acnologia slowly descended as we came closer. Soon he landed softly on the ground in front of a big cave.

"**Let's go inside.**" Acnologia said as I slid down from his back and landed on the ground.

"Right." I replied, I was getting quite impatient to get the story of him being a Dragon explained. The black light enveloped him again and as it faded away, he was in Human form again.

**In the guild Fairy Tail – One day after Lucy's leave**

**Wendy's P.O.V**

It's been a day since Lucy-san left. We found Gajeel-kun, in the forest at the outskirts of Magnolia, knocked out. After the wild wind, which we knew he made, we went out to look for him, I could easily follow his scent to the train station. Pantherlily had come up to us, panting like he had been running for his life, and was scratched all over. I quickly healed him, and then we followed him into the forest, where we found Gajeel-kun.

Master had taken him with us home to Fairy Tail and put him in the infirmary, Team Natsu was already out by then luckily. Gajeel-kun had exhausted his magic greatly, and he needed to rest in a few days to regain it.

The rest of us had been in a gloomy mood all day and today too. Gajeel-kun had failed in reaching Lucy-san in time, not that it was his fault, and we had no idea where she could be. She was probably walking straight into the jaws of that Dragon.

I just _couldn't_ believe it. Lucy-san would die, and there's _nothing_ I could do about it. The rest of the guild members still hadn't noticed Lucy-san's absence and it made me furious. Especially Team Natsu was the target of my anger. Weren't _they_ so close to Lucy-san? Weren't _they_ her best friends and almost-siblings? Weren't _they_ supposed to be the _first_ to notice?!

But they hadn't. They hadn't said a _thing_. _Nothing at all_. They didn't even see me seething with anger.  
It was the first time I'd ever been so mad. I usually don't get mad, but this time they went over the line. I knew the others felt the same way.

I was sitting at a table with Carla. We weren't saying anything, just sitting and thinking. Or more likely grieving over the loss of our friend, and the knowledge she was going to be killed, without us being able to do anything.

Carla suddenly lay down on the table on her back with closed eyes. So she got too tired of standing? I guess that's a perk of being an Exceed, you could just lie anywhere you wanted to.

I looked at her the way she laid there, and then she shivered and opened her eyes. She stared at the ceiling, and then a smile crept to her face. Why was she smiling? What was there to _smile_ about?

I was just about to ask her those questions, but she cut me to it. "I had a vision." She said plainly. The smile on her face grew wider. I straightened up in my seat, looking intently at the white Neko. "The continuation of the other." She said. I widened my eyes. Why was she _smiling_?! She _saw_ Lucy-san DIE! That's nothing to smile about! I didn't get to say anything as she sat up straight. "Go get Juvia, I'll get Pantherlily." She kept smiling as she spread her angel-like wings and flew to the infirmary, where Pantherlily stayed with Gajeel-kun.

I looked after her as she flew. Then I shook my head and walked over to Juvia-san, who sat at the bar, not stalking Gray as she had used to. "Juvia-san." She looked at me with dull, lifeless eyes. I looked back at her with equally dull and lifeless eyes. "Carla had a vision, we're meeting at the Master's office." I said in a flat, monotone voice. She nodded at me and stood up. Together we walked to the Master's office.

Walking up the stairs, we saw a smiling Carla and a tired Pantherlily heading our way. We reached the Master's office at the same time and I knocked on the door. A faint "Come in" could be heard from the other side of the door. We entered the office, and Master looked alternately at all of us, his eyes lingered on Carla a little longer. He gestured for us to sit down.

"So what's this about?" He asked without the usual life and happiness his words always held. Carla spoke up.

"I've had a vision." She said eagerly, everyone turned their attention to her as she continued. "It was the continuation of the other one." She smiled. Master looked at her with sad eyes.

"Child, in sorry for what you have seen, please try to forget it." He said slowly. He thought the same as me, that Carla had seen Lucy's head be ripped off her body.

Carla shook her head. "Why would I? It was beautiful." My eyes widened at her statement. She'd gone crazy.

"Carla..." I started looking at the Neko. She looked at me, and then realized something.

"Oh right, you think she died." She said calmly, but still with that wide smile.

"What else is Juvia _supposed_ to think?" Juvia-san asked confused. Pantherlily slowly started to curve his lips into a small smile, maybe he understood what Carla was saying.

Carla answered Juvia. "Try to imagine the Dragon transforming into a _boy_ around the age of twenty, before it hits her, and throwing his arms around her _protectively_. Then a _happy_ reunion of two old friends." Carla said with a wide smile. We just stared at her speechless.

"Care to explain further in detail or what?" Pantherlily asked with his paws crossed. Carla nodded and then explained.

"Well, first I saw Lucy in that creepy forest and in that clearing. Then the Dragon roared, in what I now recognize is victory, and rushed towards her, when it was just a few inches from her face it was surrounded in a black light, and instead stood a young man with his arms around her as if she could disappear any given moment, and whispering "I've finally found you" or _something_ like that. Then the picture shifted to her throwing her arms around him with tears rolling down her eyes and saying "Acnologia! I missed you so much!" I think." Master eyes widened at the mention of the boy's name, but Carla took no further notice of it as she continued. "Then he said he had missed her too after giving her another tight hug. If you can call it that. Then the picture changed again, and this time I think I saw Lucy's _past_ from her point of view. She was holding hands with a stunningly beautiful blonde woman who looked an awful lot like Lucy, except older. They went into a big circular room where a man and a boy were waiting for them. They spoke a bit, but I couldn't hear them for some reason. Then, as the boy bowed, he looked straight at me, or Lucy, as we were hiding behind the woman's legs. The boy was a younger version of the Dragon-boy. I'd estimate him to be around the age of thirteen or fourteen then. That is about it" Carla finally finished. She had explained the whole thing without taking a pause, and spoke quickly and eagerly.

There was complete silence, then we all began to crack a smile, and soon we were laughing. Lucy-san was alive! We knew better than to not believe Carla's visions. And this one clearly indicated she _wasn't_ dead, and wasn't going to die anytime soon. But I wonder who this Acnologia guy was? Whoever he was, if he's Lucy's friend, then he's mine too.

Tears of relief ran down our faces as our laughter died down. I felt warmth in my heart, relieved like I'd never been relieved before.

Then Master Makarov frowned at something. "Was it _Acnologia_ you said the boys' name was?" He asked. Carla nodded confused. "Curious. _Very_ curious." He muttered to himself, the only reason I could hear it was because of my enhanced hearing.

A loud thud was heard from the room to the right, then a lot of curses. "Juvia thinks Gajeel is awake." Juvia-san said. The others nodded.

"He's nowhere _near_ healthy enough to stand up. He _has_ to lie down." I said, knowing that Gajeel-kun would go searching for Lucy-san, and that wasn't _necessary_ now. She would live!

Pantherlily nodded. "I'll go get him in bed before he can hurt himself - _more_." He said and sweat dropped.

"Yeah we'll go with you. I need to check his condition anyway and Carla needs to tell him the vision." I said and smiled.

"Juvia will help as well." Juvia-san said with determination. Master chuckled lowly. We went out of the office and found Gajeel-kun trying to crawl out of the infirmary on the floor, apparently he couldn't stand.  
We stopped up and looked at the Iron Dragon Slayer, he stared at us with his red and piercing eyes. Then he dropped his face on the ground with a 'ugh' and we sweat dropped.

Pantherlily flew over to his friend and picked him up slowly and flying into the infirmary with him. We entered the room with them and stood by the bed.

Gajeel-kun looked up at each of us then grunted and looked away to the side. "Why can't you just let me _go_?" He muttered.

I sighed. "Because you are in no condition to go looking for her and-" I was cut off.

"_My_ condition doesn't matter! Bunny-Girl is walking straight into a _Dragons'_ _territory_! _Let me go get her_!" He yelled and trashed around under Pantherlily grip, he'd changed into Battle form to keep Gajeel-kun down.

I sighed again. "Gajeel-kun." I got no reaction from the man. "_Gajeel-kun_!" I tried again; this time I got his attention he lifted a studded eyebrow. "Stop. You don't _have_ to get her." Gajeel-kun widened his eyes and was about to say something, I cut him off. "Carla had a vision. You'd _want_ to hear it, it's the continuation of the other." I smiled. Gajeel sent me a weird face as Carla began explaining the vision again.

When she was done explaining, Gajeel-kun was wearing a frown as he looked up at the ceiling. I asked him what he was thinking about.

"Well. He's a Dragon, _apparently_, Dragons are _extremely_ territorial, and the two of them are probably going to be together for some time." He voiced his thoughts, still frowning. Juvia-san and Pantherlily smirked at him. He noticed their expressions. "_What_?"

They grinned at him smugly. "Juvia thinks Gajeel is _jealous_." She said teasingly. Pantherlily nodded. Gajeel-kun's face heated up, I smirked as I noticed the tint of pink on his face. Well _this_ is _something_.

"_Heck no_! It's _not_ like that!" He yelled at us, not looking anyone in the eyes.

"What _is_ it like then?" I asked imitating Juvia-san's tone.

"Not you too Wendy!" He complained. Pantherlily looked down at his friend, urging him to answer my question. "It is because if this guy decides that he likes Bunny-Girl, then there's the possibility that we _won't_ see her again." He explained plainly. Oh, he had a point for once.

Juvia-san furrowed her brow. "Juvia doesn't understand, why would we not see Lucy-sama again?" She asked. I was still not used to Juvia-san calling Lucy-san for 'Lucy-sama'.

Gajeel-kun rolled his eyes at her. "You know how emotions, senses and everything else is enhanced for us Dragon Slayers. Well, for Dragons it's ten times worse, and, whether they like it or not, they're _extremely_ territorial, _especially_ the males. If, Acnologia was it?, wants Bunny-Girl as his ma- eh, _girlfriend_, which there's high possibility of judging by how they _reunited_, then he'll maybe be so possessive that he won't _let_ us see her. Just saying." Gajeel-kun explained in one long go. I knew all this, so it didn't surprise me, but the others were surprised.

That guy, _Acnologia_, could very well be as possessive as Gajeel-kun _thinks_ he is, but maybe he isn't, we don't know. Yet anyway. Gajeel-kun continued. "But I think that Bunny-Girl could convince him, she has a way of doing that kinda stuff. She _promised_ she'd come back, so she'll come back." He nodded with crossed arms.

Yeah he's right. Lucy will come back, I'm sure of it.

**Gajeel, you party-pooper! Why can't you just let the others be happy that Lucy's alive, huh? Is it that hard? Oh well, I guess it is, 'cuz I wrote it. And he follows MY EVERY COMMAND! MUAHAHA! **

**I was laughing my ass of myself when I wrote about Gajeel's face-plant. I even had trouble writing it! I know it might be kinda weird – but you guys better get used to it! Why? Cuz' I'm weird! And a retard at some points too ^_^**

**Anyway, if we just forget what I just said above, I hope you're annoyed that you still don't know why Acnologia is a Dragon… Okay that sounded sadistic – Well, anyway, I'm sorry, I just had, no **_**have, **_**to figure out why he is a Dragon first. RANDOMNESS LONG LIVE! – Naw, I have an idea already~ **

**I hope my story is different from other 'Lucy gets kicked off Team Natsu and goes out to train, where she meets the thing she last expected. A Dragon.' stories. If it isn't yet, then I hope it will be later on. Or rather, it WILL be later on, starting with the next chapter! – I hope. **

**If you haven't already figured out, then every time something BIG like a Dragon speaks, I'll put the letters in bold, just to point out that it is something big. ;)**

**Than you to; Dyeni, Mooshkazz123 (Guest), NiyomiWolfSlayer, xsphinxslady, WishtToBeWizard, Guest, Zades, KaylaBow, NerdyGoodies, AM (Guest), xxPerfectMistakexx, Akako Hama, Guest (12), otakujudy, Terrixghost hunt1353, Howl-of-the-golden-wolf and all you other readers for… Well… Reading and following and favoriting and reviewing. I got especially many reviews this time compared to the other times, arigatou for that people!**

~** Line464d**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

**Ahh, finally back from my vacation~. And lemme just say, it was amazing, and I've transformed to a fellow nigga (Almost) ;)**

**If any of you ever go to Alanya (I think that's how it's spelled?) in Turkey, and don't know what hotel to stay in, pick Kahya Hotel – That's where I was. It is an amazing all inclusive hotel with a great pool with slides, you can go up and get cola or any other drink you'd like for free, and there's served food four times a day. There's a lot of activities during the day, for both adults and children, and in the evening there's always some kind of show. Fakir show, karaoke and a lot of other things. It also lies really good, you only have to step out of the hotel, cross the street and you've reached the beach. If you go to either the left or the right, you'll walk straight into the little 'downtown' area, with cheap shops, bars and you name it.**

**Eh… I don't think they'd mind free advertisement, do you? In any case, good place, consider going there, it's fantastic. **

**Oh, and there's one thing I just have to share with you guys… I ATE TURKEY I TURKEY! Just so you know ^_^**

**Also, I found out why Acnologia is a Dragon, now it's just up to you guys to read and review! I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made. R&R!**

**Disclaimer: ****My friend, Hiro Mashima, has yet to decide to share Fairy Tail with me. Ohh, that Slowpoke. (Not a Pokémon reference at all, nope)**

**In Acnologia's cave**

**Lucy's P.O.V**

Acnologia and I went into his _gigantic_ cave; it was big enough for him to stand up as a Dragon. In other words, there was _more_ than enough space. It was just plain gray rock walls in a big semi-circle. In the end of the cave, which was only about five meters from the entrance, there was what I would call a nest. It was a big bundle of plants and things like that. Again, it was big enough for him as a Dragon. I guessed that was where he slept. I dropped my sleeping bag at the entrance.

Acnologia went to the nest and sat down in it, with me following close behind. It was surprisingly comfortable, the nest. I could _easily_ sleep here if it came to that.

"So." I said slowly to break the silence between us. "Why were you a _Dragon_ just now?" I asked with curiosity written all over my face. He stared out in the forest with a smile on his lips.

He turned his beautiful night-blue gaze to me. Wait… _What_ did I just think? "Well, it's a rather long story actually, and I'm not quite sure where to start.'' He said then seemed to be lost in thought for a moment. "Well I guess I could start with the Dragons and all." He nodded to himself. I pulled up my legs and rested my arms on my knees, focusing on my friend. "So, in the Dragon Community, we're divided into Clans by our element. The 12 biggest elements are the bigger Clans of Dragons; they're leaders of all the Dragons, that's because they are the original Clans. From there on a lot of smaller elements and Clans, which were made after the original ones, because some Dragons gained new or different powers. Every Clan, big as well as small, has a head Dragon that represents his or her whole Clan. The original elements are Fire, Water, Sky, Earth, Lightning, Metal, Light, Shadow, Ice, Poison, Chaos and Peace. The last two also has other names. The Peace Dragons sometimes are referred to as Life Dragons and Chaos Dragons as Death Dragons, it's a story from long ago. Dragons with one of the original 12 elements are usually stronger than those from smaller clans, of course there is always exceptions.'' He explained. I felt it would take some time for me to progress _all_ the information I would get the coming hours. I could almost already feel the migraine I'd get.

"What does it mean that a Clan is _'original'_?" I asked, wanting to know more, even though I would probably forget most of it. Or not, we'd see.

"That just means that the Clans' ancestors fought in the war against Zeref 400 years ago. Also, their magic is slightly different from that of the smaller Clans." He told me.

I nodded. "Okay, what can these smaller Clans be?" I asked as he didn't continue his story.

"Well, for example the Script Dragons or Celestial Dragons. They can't like the 12 originals attack with a Dragons Roar, because they are not an element like that." He told me. Celestial Dragons? I had got to check _that_ out.

"How do they attack then?" I asked, getting quite curious with these Celestial Dragons.

"Well, they can gather up their magic in their claws, tails and other body parts and attack physically like that. I also _think_ they can use a little magic from their own element, but I'm not sure. I don't know much about them, as I only _just_ became a Dragon myself." It still felt weird knowing Acnologia was a Dragon. "And got pushed into all of this." He muttered afterwards.

"Alright. What Clan are you part of?" I asked. I'd have to look up on Celestial Dragons; maybe I'll ask Crux for help.

"I'm part of the Chaos Clan." He said with pride shining in his eyes and a wide smile. My eyes widened.

"You're a member of one of the _original_ Dragon Clans? How did you become _that_?" I asked when I had passed the first wave of shock.

"It lies in my blood. My father is a part of it too." He smiled. The blood, huh? So his father is a Dragon too? That'd be the most obvious thing.

"So when did you know about the Dragon inside you?" I asked out of curiosity. He looked outside of the cave.

"I've known from the beginning." He said slowly. "I only just became able to _transform_ into a Dragon five years ago, almost just after I had attacked the Heartfilia Mansion with my father, where he got caught." He added. "Father taught me about it when I was very little. I always knew he was a Dragon, and that I would become one too someday." He said sorrowfully. He missed his father, which was obvious. "He was the head of our Clan, the _strongest_ Chaos Dragon. Now that he's _away_, I'm the Head, as I would have become _eventually_, when my father had… Passed on." He said with difficulty. Even though he didn't look at me directly, I could see all his sorrow in his eyes, just thinking about it. "It's just _too_ soon, I'm only 21 and have been able to transform into the Dragon for five years, _normally_ the leader has known his or her Dragon for 45 years. Besides, my father isn't _dead_." Acnologia almost whispered the last part. He looked down at his feet. Acnologia is head of his Clan? What does he do? When does he represent his clan? And how could Kurama be _over_ 45 years old? He didn't look a _day_ over 25. I decided not to ask, I'd find out another day, right now was not the time.

I moved over next to him, I knew how it felt to lose your parent. Too well, in fact. I put my arms around him and rested my head on his shoulder. He tensed a little at my touch and looked at me in confusion. "We'll get your father out, I _swear._ I'll do _whatever_ I can to help." I smiled to him, the usual warm and friendly smile. He relaxed and got his arms around me as well.

"Yes, we will." He looked at me with a soft smile. We sat like that for a while. Not saying anything, just enjoying the silence.

"Why are you _here_, in the forest, anyway?" He finally asked. I looked up at him. My brown eyes met his night-blue, captivating eyes, surrounded by his black and blue hair.

I smiled. "Well, it is a rather _long_ story." I copied Acnologia. "But it started out with me running from my Papa, as he had gone all business after Mama died. I ended up in Hargeon, where I got caught up in a Charm spell." Which still embarrassed me. "Natsu Dragneel, the guy I mentioned earlier, saved me from that man and brought me back to Fairy Tail." Yes, this is the _very_ short version of it all. "Soon I came in a team with Natsu, another guy Gray and a girl Erza, and let's just say we've been through _a lot_ of adventures during this little year. But around a month ago, we went to this parallel dimension called Edolas, I don't know if you know it." He shook his head gently. "Alright, well, I'll tell about it later if you want. Anyway, one of their lost teammates had somehow ended up there and we took her with us back to Earthland." I felt myself slow down as I remembered the last three weeks very well. "As she had come back, we held a week-long party for her." Acnologia raised an eyebrow. I giggled; Fairy Tail was a little crazy from the outside. Well, it _was_ known as the place for hooligans to gather after all. "Yes, I know, but that's just how Fairy Tail is. During that week and the next two, my team and the rest of Fairy Tail slipped away from me slowly, and only a few still acknowledged me." I said as a tear fell from my eyes. Acnologia wiped it away and stroke my arm, offering me much needed comfort. "Then two days ago, my team, who I'd grown so close to, they _were_ almost like my siblings and Natsu _was_ my best friend, told me I was nothing but a _replacement_ for Lisanna, the girl who had returned, and that I was weak. They kicked me off the team without hesitation." I looked away from Acnologia and down on my knees. "Then I ran away to train and become stronger, which is how I ended up here, in short." I smiled sadly, still not looking up. This time it was Acnologia's turn to hug me, except he didn't have tears rolling down his face, I did.

"It's okay, I understand. You don't have to say more if you don't want to, _I'll_ be here for you from now on. They _won't_ hurt you again, I promise. Not while _I'm_ here to prevent it." He reassured me. I nodded weakly knowing my voice wasn't quite ready to be used again. I didn't know if he actually understood what it was I was telling him, but I didn't care right now, I just found comfort in his words and embrace.

**Acnologia's P.O.V**

I didn't quite understand how close Lucy was with this _Fairy Tail_ and that _team_ she was on, but I knew, just by _looking_ at her, that she had cared deeply for them. And that they'd thrown her away calling her weak and a replacement for someone else. Those were two mean accusations, and then from her _best_ friends too. I couldn't understand how people could do that to each other, but what I _did _know was that I wouldn't forgive them any time soon. I would avenge Lucy, _that_ was for sure.

I put my attention on her again, as she began to speak. "But I have to return after my training." She whispered. Why would she want to _return_?

"Why would you want to _return_? After what they did, I can't see why you would go back to them?" I asked completely dumbfounded with the way she was thinking. She looked up at me with her beautiful and puffy brown eyes.

"There are five people waiting for me. Gajeel Redfox, Pantherlily, Wendy Marvell, Carla and Juvia Lockser. _They_ helped me through those last three weeks, and I _promised_ them I'd return stronger than ever." She said in a low voice. I saw the determination in her eyes and heard it in her voice. I nodded, there was five people she had made a promise with, and I didn't see her breaking any promises.

"I see. Well, whenever you feel you want to return there, _I'll_ come with you and join as well." I said, it wasn't even up for discussion. She would need someone to kick this Nratso, or whatever's, ass, and I'd be glad to lend a foot. She giggled and nodded. "And if you want I can help you train?" I then offered slowly, not sure if she would accept. She looked up at me with wide eyes. Then nodded and smiled widely.

"I'd _love_ to! Thank you Acnologia!" She said and tightened her hold around me slightly. I became aware of the fact that I hadn't removed my arms from her when I had tried to comfort her, so as soon as she relaxed a little I pulled back.

I smiled at her. She was still a lot like the bubbly and cheery girl I knew from all those years ago, except in a woman's body, not a child's. A _beautiful_ woman's body even… Wait – What am I _thinking? _I shouldn't be thinking about her _that_ way_. _But then again, the Dragon Community…

I looked outside, thinking about the Dragon Community and my father; I quickly pushed the thoughts away and thought about Lucy's training, which would begin tomorrow. We could go into the Dragon Realm and train; it'd give her double as much time. But then again it_ was_ the Dragon Realm, where my Clan and all the others were waiting for me to bring back _The Lost one_. She'd finally be back, but how would the others react? She wasn't quite ready to meet them yet, or their expectations. Maybe I could talk with the other Clan Heads, I'm sure at least Grandine would understand.

I cut off my thoughts there, and looked at the sky, it was soon going to be dark, and we had a long day tomorrow, so we'd better go to sleep early. I looked at Lucy, she sat with her head on my shoulder and an arm around my back to steady herself. I don't think she was aware of what she was doing, just as I wasn't aware of the arm around her before right now, she was probably lost in her thoughts as well.

"Lucy." She came back to reality and blinked twice before looking at me. "We have a long day in front of us tomorrow; we better go to sleep early." I said. She looked at me confused, and then she realized something.

"Oh yeah, we begin tomorrow?" She asked. I nodded. She stood up and walked towards where she had dropped her sleeping bag "Alright I'll just-" She was cut off as I transformed back to my Dragon form. She looked at me with a raised eyebrow. I looked at her from above.

"_**What**_**?**" I asked confused. She giggled at me.

"Why did you turn back?" She asked in amusement, of what I have no idea.

"**Well, I have a hard time keeping it up at night, so rather than **_**squashing**_** the life out of you during the night, I'll just be transformed now and it won't be a problem." **I said. She nodded with an amused grin.

"Alright, I'll lie on the floor in my sleeping bag right-" She folded her sleeping back out right next to my nest. "Here. _Hey_!" I picked up her sleeping bag with my tail, and held it up where she couldn't reach it. "Come on Acnologia, put it down." She pouted. I chuckled, which made the ground shake a bit.

"**No, I'm **_**not**_** letting you lie on the **_**floor**_**. Why do you **_**think**_** I'm in a nest? It gets cold at night.**_**" **_I answered. She looked at me incredulously.

"So you want me to sleep in _your_ nest. _With_ you?" She asked with her eyebrow raised again. Good thing I wasn't in my Human form now, or I'd have blushed. I hadn't realized how perverted it made me sound. "I swear, you're _just_ like Loke." She muttered. I wondered who '_Loke' _was, but guessed he was someone from the guild. I already didn't like the guy, if that was what she related him to.

"**I don't know who this **_**Loke**_ **is, but I'm sure he doesn't want you to have a cold tomorrow either. A bad one at that too.**" I said, and then folded out her sleeping back next to me in the nest. "**I don't, and whether **_**you**_** like it or not, you're going to sleep here in the nest.**" I said calmly, as if I hadn't realized how perverted I sounded when I said that. She huffed in annoyance and pouted, but after a while, she gave in and crawled up in the nest and into the sleeping bag. She looked at me.

"Now, please don't try anything funny, okay?" She asked, suddenly uncertain it seemed.

"**I'm a **_**Dragon**_**, Lucy. You can be quite sure nothing **_**funny**_** will happen.**" I reminded her.

"You _could_ bite my head off." She said. I sweat dropped.

"**Now, **_**why**_** would I do that?**" I asked, shaking my head. Where did she get that imagination from? She shrugged. "**Goodnight Lucy.**"

"Goodnight, Acnologia." She smiled. I smiled down at her as well as I could. Then I lay my head on my feet and held my tail around her, and my wing sheltering her from the cold wind I knew would come.

After some training in the Dragon Realm, she would….

"Princess! Have you missed me? The Spirit King let me go ear- What_ the_-?! A _DRAGON_?!" Someone yelled _just_ as I was about to fall asleep. You don't wake me when I'm about to sleep. You just don't. And most certainly not now, with my new visitor. Now, I'm pissed.

**In the Spirit World **

**Lokes' P.O.V**

"**Yes Leo, I'll help out with training my old friends' Master, Lucy.**" The Spirit King said and nodded while playing with his moustache. "**I have a feeling she can become the strongest Celestial mage the world has ever seen. Besides, I feel another, strong power inside her.**" He added. I nodded; yes I had felt it too. It was a mighty power, which could overcome even Gildarts' with some help.

I had asked the Spirit King for help to train Lucy, as I knew he would be a _great_ help. I was surprised he had agreed to train her. I had asked him, but I didn't expect him to agree.

I bowed at the Spirit King. "Thank you, Spirit King. Your help is much appreciated." I stood up straight again. "But I think we should find another place to train, as time passes by too fast here in the Spirit World." I said. One day here was three months in Earthland, so it was basically ridiculous to train here.

"**Yes, you're right. Hmm..**" The Spirit King went through his archives. He found what he was looking for and took it up. "**What about the Dragon Realm?**" He suggested. I looked at him with wide eyes. Wasn't that dangerous? "**One day in Earthland is two there. Besides, I think there was something about there being Celestial Dragons there.**" He looked down at me, and noticed my wide eyes. "**And no, Leo, it isn't dangerous for her. Despite what you might think, the Dragons are actually quite peaceful.**" The Spirit King smiled.

"Phew, you had me worried there for a second." I brushed off non-existent sweat on my forehead. "That seems like a good place. _Celestial_ Dragons, eh? I've never heard of them, but I guess they would know a thing or two about Celestial magic." I said as the Spirit King went through some of his paper. He found a paper and held it out in front of him.

"**Ahh, **_**here**_** it is. Yes I was right. She won't age when she is in the Dragon Realm, for reasons that are still unknown. It is only Dragons which can age in the Dragon realm.**" He said, and looked at me, playing with his moustache again. "**The Celestial Dragons know things about Celestial magic, that even **_**I**_** don't know. They also have some special keys you can't find anywhere else.**" The Spirit King said with a nod.

"Well, that's nice. I appreciate your cooperation in Lucy's training. Now, if you'd excuse me, I will go back to my Master, she's all alone." I said and gathered my magic to open my gate. The Spirit King chuckled behind me.

"**Now, don't **_**kill**_** the guy, okay Leo?**" He said in amusement. I lifted an eyebrow at him. What did he mean? What _guy_? I ignored it and went through my gate to Earthland.

I had a sensation of flying and then I saw a golden light, which I knew was Earthland. In a flash, I stood in Earthland. It was late in the evening, and the sky was getting dark. I could feel I had my back to my Master.

"Princess! Have you missed me?" I turned around to face her. I pushed my glasses up with two fingers. "The Spirit King let me go ear- What _the_-" I saw a big black… _thing_, in a nest and I could feel Lucy's presence with it. Then I recognized its features. The head, wings, claws, tail. "A _DRAGON?!_" I yelled in fear of my Master having been swallowed whole by the thing.

The Dragon looked up with an annoyed expression. It moved its tail and wing a little closer to itself, but glared at me with pissed eyes. Okay, that wasn't my _smartest_ move of the day, I'll admit that. The Dragon was black with bright blue curly marks decorating its body. It had long claws and now it was showing its just as pointy teeth at me. Its wings were wide and its belly was white. It looked intimidating, _very _intimidating.

"O-oi, I didn't mean to wake you up, Mr. D-Dragon. I'm j-just looking for a fri-friend." I trembled. Yes, even Leo the Lion is afraid of Dragons, especially this one. It didn't move at all, it just stared intimidatingly at me.

"**You should know **_**better**_** than to enter a Dragons' Den. I don't-**" The Dragon was cut off.

"It's okay, Acnologia." A beautiful woman voice said somewhere near the Dragon. It looked down at something under its wings, probably the source of the voice. "It's my Spirit Loke." She said. Is that _Lucy_? How does she know a Dragon? What the _Hell _did I miss?

"L-Lucy? Is that _you_?" I asked. Some noises of footsteps on leaves were heard and out from the protection of the Dragons' wings came my favorite blonde stellar mage. She nodded and smiled at me. I ran up to her and held her close into my chest. How'd I let a Dragon so close to her? And that name… She giggled a little. "How do you know that – that _thing_?" I asked while glaring up at the Dragon, which thumped its tail in annoyance. It glared down at me with its dark eyes. She pulled a little back from me.

"Loke, meet my childhood friend Acnologia Tehepo. Acnologia, meet my friend and Spirit, Loke, the Lion Spirit." She said and gestured between us as she mentioned our names. She was friends with a _Dragon_ as little?! She looked up at Acnologia. "It might be better if you're in your _Human_ form." She said apologizing with her eyes. It had a Human form?

The Dragon huffed in annoyance. "**Right.**" A black light surrounded the Dragon, and instead of the mighty creature, stood a young man with black hair which turned blue in the ends, a blue t-shirt with a black leather jacket and black jeans. He was lean and toned, more than Natsu I think. He walked over to us and stretched out his hand to me for a handshake, he was almost as tall as Laxus. I took his hand and we 'greeted' each other silently and glaring at each other.

Now I know what the Spirit King meant with 'Don't _kill_ the guy', I really _wanted_ to kill that Dragon-boy right now. He was a _threat_ to my Princess, just by being a Dragon.

I turned my attention back to my Master, as she was a _far_ better sight than that Dragon. I looked into her brown orbs through my sunglasses. "The Spirit King has agreed to help you train." I smiled. Her eyes widened as I said that. "And we've found a good place to train. One day here is two days there, it's called-" I was cut off by none other than _Dragon_-_boy_.

"The Dragon Realm." He smirked. "Exactly the place _I_ had chosen to train her." He kept up the smirking. I squinted my eyes at him. _He_ had chosen to train her, huh? Well, that wouldn't be necessary now.

Lucy didn't feel the tension between the Dragon-boy and I, she just jumped a little up and down where she stood. "I'm going to train in the _Dragon_ _Realm_! With Moustache-Man, my Spirits _and_ Acnologia! Yay!" She cheered and was overly happy. Even though Dragon-boy and I didn't particularly _like_ each other, we shared a glance, and then chuckled at the blonde Celestial mage. "How did you make _Moustache-Man_ agree to that, Loke?" She asked without having calmed down at all. I smiled at her eagerness.

"Well, I just had to ask, and he agreed, saying; 'Yes Leo, I'll help out with training my old friends' Master, Lucy.'. I think you're the first Celestial mage he has agreed to train with." I smiled at her.

Dragon-boy cleared his throat to get our attention. "Who is this, '_Moustache-Man'_ you're talking about?" He asked. He didn't know the _Spirit_ _King_? Well, he _is_ also just and overgrown lizard, so there can't be much brain up there.

"Moustache-man, or better known as the Spirit King, he's the biggest and strongest Celestial Spirit, which is why he is the King, and no one owns his key." Lucy explained with a smile. Dragon-boy nodded in understanding. I hope he isn't just as dense as Natsu, 'cause I don't feel like dealing with that _again_.

"Right. The training starts _tomorrow_, and as I'm sure you _know_, Loke, was it?, you need a _Dragon_, to enter the _Dragon_ Realm, so we need to rest." Dragon-boy said with a smirk as he turned around to his nest and let the black light envelop him again. He had transformed back to his Dragon form and lay down like he had before. "**Lucy you should get in your sleeping bag.**" He said, sending a smirk to me, and tapping the ground lightly with his tail. No, I _didn't_ know you _needed_ a Dragon to enter the Dragon Realm. _Damn_ you, Spirit King! _You_ had this _all_ planned out, didn't you? I could _almost_ hear him laughing in my mind. Lucy nodded and went over to her sleeping bag under his wing, _much_ to my dismay.

Dragon-boy curled his tail protectively around _my_ Master, without her noticing. It made me fume in anger inside. How _dare_ he do _that_ right in front of me? But he was just smirking.

"Goodnight you two." She said, as she cuddled up in her sleeping bag.

"Goodnight Lucy/Princess" Dragon-boy and I said in unison. Lucy giggled her sweet giggle at us. We glared at each other, none of us dropping our gazes. After a while we heard Lucy's drawn out and sleeping breaths. Dragon-boy had turned his gaze to her, and was looking down at her softly, with emotions in his, eh, _'face'_ that I couldn't quite place. I didn't know how to feel about I, but didn't say anything.

"**Loke I have to tell you something.**" Dragon-boy then said in a low voice, completely out of the blue. He hadn't removed his gaze from Lucy. I nodded, urging him to continue. Finally he looked away from Lucy and at me. "**I haven't told Lucy yet, but I will tomorrow before we leave, it is quite important she knows.**" He said slowly. I crawled up in the nest and leaned against a big branch. I didn't say anything; I just waited for him to tell me what it was, he would like to share. "**Well, as Lucy said, we are childhood friends. She was 10 years old when I met her and I was 14. My father, Kurama Tehepo, the head of the Chaos Clan, and Lucy's mother, Layla Heartfilia, were good friends and were **_**finally**_** able to meet after a long time. However, I don't think Lucy knows an important… **_**Part**_** of her mother. Layla Heartfilia was a Peace Dragon, and she was the Head Dragon of her Clan.**" Dragon-boy explained. I widened my eyes. "**You know about the Dragon Community, right?**" He asked. I nodded, still too stunned to speak. "**Good. **_**Originally**_**, my father and Layla were supposed to be mates, because there had been several quarrels between the Chaos Dragons and the Peace Dragons, and that pair **_**would**_** mark the end of that. However Layla fell in love with a **_**human**_**, Jude Heartfilia, and they married. Layla threw away her last name, Mau'Te Rongo, and took her husband's name, Heartfilia.**" Dragon-boy explained.

"So, wait. Lucy's last name is in fact _Mau'Te Rongo_, and not _Heartfilia_. And she has a _Dragon_ inside her, like _you_?" I asked, although I already knew the answer. Dragons' last name always went through the generations; it was much stronger than what humans thought of it.

Dragon-boy nodded. I looked at my hands. So _that_ was the power the Spirit King and I had felt in her? Shit, _how_ do you _tell_ her this kind of thing? "**Yes, exactly. So, continuing on, Layla and my father were obviously **_**not**_** mated, instead, when they found out the two had gotten children of different gender, it was decided that **_**we**_** mate.**" My head jolted up and I glared at the Dragon. They were supposed to be _mated_?! The _HELL_! How would Lucy react to _that_? What's more, I wouldn't accept that! Well, except if Lucy thought it was okay then… "**Yes, I know it's quite sudden. So my father and I were sent to meet Layla and Lucy, when we were both still very young. Lucy didn't know **_**anything**_** about her mother being a Dragon, **_**or**_** herself for that matter, because when Jude found out Layla was a Dragon, he **_**forbade**_** her to transform into it and to **_**ever**_** tell Lucy about that other side of her. Jude didn't know my father and I were Dragons like Layla, and that we actually were there to rescue her and Lucy from Jude. However, Layla **_**refused**_** to go back to the Dragon Realm, she still loved Jude, and she wouldn't leave him, even if it meant giving up on being a Dragon. She said she would rather **_**die**_** than leave.**" Dragon-boy said, sorrow lacing his voice. I looked at the mighty Dragon, it was weird. Talking to a Dragon like this and seeing its expression of sorrow.

"Which she did." I then said, remembering what Lucy had told about her mother.

The Dragon nodded. "**Yes, she became very sick, because she wasn't allowed to go into her Dragon form for **_**so**_** long. We Dragons need to be in our Dragon forms **_**at least**_** once a week for an entire day, if we want to survive, but it isn't good if we are in our Dragon forms all the time either, it's about the natural balance **_**between**_** the two. Layla hadn't been in her Dragon form for many, **_**many**_** years, which in itself is a miracle she had survived so long, and soon she died from a sickness no human could **_**ever**_** heal. Jude found out that my father and I were Dragons, and forbade us from **_**ever**_** seeing Lucy again. He also wouldn't let Lucy use magic, as it would trigger her Dragon, when she becomes strong enough. That's what he thought anyway. My father and I tried to break into the Heartfilia Mansion and rescue Lucy, but to no avail. It was too heavily guarded, and with all those guards, no matter how mighty a Dragon it was, it wouldn't have been able to get through.**" Dragon-boy paused and closed his eyes for a while then looked outside in the dark forest. "**One time, when we tried breaking into the Heartfilia Mansion, my father was caught and sent to the Magic Council and was put in jail in Crocus. He is still there now. I'm still trying to figure out how to get him out, and Lucy has promised to help-**" I cut the Dragon off.

"You have _my_ help as well, Acnologia." I said. I had been moved by the Dragons' story, and I began to feel I could trust him. Besides, wherever my Master went, I'd go too. That was part of being a Spirit. The Dragon looked at me and smiled, I think, gratefully.

"**Thank you Loke. Anyway, since my father is being held in Crocus by the Magic Council, I have been appointed the new Head of my Clan, the Chaos Clan.**" I widened my eyes as he told me he was from one of the original Clans. Well isn't this something? I guess I should have figured it out, since he told me his father _was_ Head of the Clan before the whole thing. "**My father had that spot before, but after he got caught, he had no way of being there at meetings and what else. As the new Head of this Clan, and the **_**only**_** one left who knew who Lucy was, I was told that it was **_**my**_** task to get her back to the Dragon Realm. I would have done that anyway, even if the rest of the Dragons hadn't given me that task. So I went out to train and become stronger, and a half a year ago, I tried breaking into the Heartfilia Mansion again. This time, I alone was strong enough to get through it all being Human, as Jude had lessened the defenses a lot. The reason why father couldn't break through before was because he wasn't used to being Human, and so couldn't fight very well, however like a Dragon, he would be a **_**beast**_**. But he couldn't change into his Dragon form at the Heartfilia Mansion, Jude had some magical barrier over the whole thing that prevented us from transforming. Anyway, when I broke through the defenses and reached Jude, he told me that Lucy had run away, but **_**didn't**_** tell me where. So I began searching for her, but soon I discovered my Dragon and I hid here in this forest.**" He ended off.

"And then she just _showed_ _up_?" I asked. He nodded. "Alright. This is going to be _hard_ to explain to her, but I'll help as much as I can." I said as a cold wind blew in and made me freeze to the bone. I clenched my jaw, so my teeth wouldn't chatter. "Well, as nice as it _was_ speaking with you, I think I'll leave now." I said slowly and tried the best I could not to sound like I was freezing.

Acnologia raised his eyebrow at me, I think. "**So you're just **_**leaving**_** her with me?**" He asked incredulously. I nodded.

"Yeah, I trust you to protect her against _whatever_ would peek its head in here." I smiled. I know how possessive Dragons can be, and I think this Dragon likes my apparently-a-Dragon Master, so she's safe.

I waved goodbye to the Dragon and went into my gate, had my flying sensation, and ended up in the Spirit World. "Oh, Lucy _Mau'Te Rongo_, what have you gotten yourself _into_?" I asked the Lion constellation that I could see clearly from where I stood.

**(Remembering disclaimer) Actually talking of Pokémon, my lil' bro was playing the second generation, I believe, and he was screaming he had found Lugia, which made me think we need a pairing name for Acnologia and Lucy, like Natsu and Lucy (Nalu) and all those. Don't ask me how Pokémon made me think of this, I have no idea. I've come up with LuGia (How **_**creative**_** of me, hm?), the 'traditional' AcLu and AcY, if you come up with ones, I'd be delighted if you share. Unlike Slowpoke. Maybe I'll make a poll about what I'll call them. (If I can figure out how to do **_**that**_** -.-'. I'm really hopeless, aren't I?) Unless, of course, there's already a name for them, which I doubt, but in case, please **_**do **_**tell me. **

**Ah yes, a Guest (He/she was the first) and a lot of others has asked me about whether the pairing was AcnologiaXLucy or not, and if wasn't already obvious, with the thing above ^, then yes, it is indeed an AcnologiaXLucy this one, so I wanted a pairing-name for them ^_^ **

**YOU GUYS PROBABLY WOULD LIKE TO READ THIS… I THINK! IT'S TRANSLATIONS!**

**Layla's last name 'Mau Te Rongo' means 'Peace' in Maori, a language spoken in New Zealand, if I remember correctly; I'm too lazy to look it up. Yeah, I know, it's no good. Sowwyy~. Also, Kurama and Acnologia's last name 'Tehepo' (Really 'te hepohepo', but it just seemed too much) means 'Chaos', I forgot to mention that. :3**

**Thank you xsphinxlady, Proto105, MoonStar1312, Guest, DarkStarnight, Guest, , BlueFiestaMockingjayPie, Candumullo09, CelestialGoddessFT, Kurasabe, mariposa28280, RedRose43, slytherintriumvirate, be my lovely, Kayle (Guest), Fairygodmother32, Xx8CrmlSoN8xX, xxPerfectMistakexx, Your Ojou-Sama, Daddys little crazy bitch, Nathy-Chan, snowleopard314, verner2, Gilgamesh The King of Heroes, Tsingy-Me, Angel of spring, Kuragari Uchiha, The Midnight Huntress, belle ride, Metallic Snow, inuyasharocks123, CloudCanivore and all you other readers! Look at all these people…. You warm my heart everyone, you really do. I came home to over 30 mails, all about Fanfiction. You can't even imagine how happy I was and still am! Thank you wonderful people! **

~** Line464d**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

**I dunno what to write up here… ALL HAIL THE RANDOMNESS!**

**There might be some weird words, but I will explain that in the A/N in the bottom. – Never mind that. Actually do mind that, there are some other translations in the bottom and there had been in earlier chapters too, that should be seen. I edited in the translations in the story, so it shouldn't be so annoying to scroll up and down now. Thank you for reading! I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made. R&R!**

**Disclaimer: ****My good friend, Slowpoke, I don't know if you know him, he's pink, has a Derp face and is extremely slow. Yeah, well this friend is so slow, he doesn't realize how good an idea it would be to let me own Fairy Tail. (No offense to Slowpoke, by the way. I love the guy)**

**Acnologias' P.O.V**

I woke up in the early morning hours. I could see the sun about to rise just above the pine trees. I pulled in the wing, that I had folded out for some reason, and was about to move my tail, when I felt something on it. I looked at my tail, and saw a blonde girl using it as a pillow. Who _is_ she? Why isn't she afraid of me? And why the _heck_ is she using _my_ tail as a pillow?

I tried to figure out who this girl was, when the other days' events flooded my mind. Right, I had found Lucy! And I had to tell her about her mother and everything… _Yay_? Oh well, it had to be done, might as well be as sooner rather than later.

I could feel that Lucy had become a little cold, so I moved in closer to her and let her use my wing as a kind of cover, hoping to warm her up. It was a little awkward even though she was asleep, and I honestly didn't really want to know how bad it would be when she woke up, but I couldn't have her getting a cold when she was supposed to meet the Heads of the 12 original Dragon Clans and this _Spirit King_. Ugh, I hope Metallicana can keep her a secret, he's so _troublesome_ sometimes, that old geezer. I sweat dropped at the thought of the Iron Clans' Head Dragon. Well, it'd be fun to experience. I think.

I felt Lucy begin to move around a little under my wing and looked down at her, sticking my head a little closer. Then she fluttered her eyes open and looked at me. "KYAAAAA!" She screamed and jolted up, backing away from me and falling over my tail. I laughed at her, even though I just scared the life out of her. She looked up at me with wide eyes as I laughed, and then the realization of who I am seemed to rush over her, and she relaxed, dropping her head on the nest sighing. "For Mavis' sake, Acnologia, don't _scare_ me like that." She giggled lowly.

"**Sorry Lucy. I actually didn't mean to do it; you just woke up and screamed.**" I laughed. She pouted at me, but a smile crept onto her face. Soon she was laughing with me.

After a while the laughter calmed down, and Lucy wiped her eyes. I felt the heavy matter I had to talk about with her weighting on my shoulders. I tried my best to ignore it, but it was really heavy.

"I'll just get some food ready." Lucy said and moved her hand to her belt.

"**How do you plan to do **_**that**_**? There's no food in the cave.**" I asked her. She smiled to me.

"I have my ways." She said, obviously teasing me. She opened a little pouch that was put on her belt and I saw 14 keys in gold and silver hanging there. Keys? Why is she carrying a bundle of keys around? Oh wait, Layla had them too, so are they - I was cut out of my thoughts as Lucy had found what she was looking for, a gold key with some weird decorations on it and a heart-like figure at the end. There was a weird symbol with four lines and two of them crossing each other. Let's just say I had no idea what it all meant. "Open the Gate of the Maiden! Virgo!" A golden light appeared in front of her and a maid appeared. She had pink hair and very blue eyes. From her wrists dangled some chains, which made noises as she bowed. She was holding some female clothes in her hands.

"Is it time for my punishment, Hime-Sama?" She asked in a monotone voice. Lucy sweat dropped and I just looked at the weird maid. Punishment? Did Lucy punish her?

"No Virgo, there's no punishment." The maid straightened her back and looked at Lucy. "Virgo, I don't know if Loke already told you, but this is my childhood friend Acnologia. Acnologia this is my Spirit, Virgo the Maiden." Lucy said and introduced us. Virgo nodded and looked up at me. Then she bowed.

"Hello, Acnologia-Sama." She said, not at all affected by me being a Dragon or anything. Then she turned her attention to Lucy. "Hime-Sama, I have brought you your clothes and prepared breakfast for the both of you, shall I bring it?" She asked Lucy, without giving me any time to reply her greeting. Lucy's so much like her mother…

Lucy smiled at her Spirit as she took the clothes the Spirit held. "Yes Virgo, thank you, that would be wonderful. I take it that Loke already _has_ told you, then?" Lucy asked again.

"Yes, Brother had explained that we shouldn't be alarmed if we saw a big black Dragon with you." Virgo said. "I'll get your food." She saluted and left in a flash of golden light. I sweat dropped.

"**Is she **_**always**_** like that?**" I asked. Lucy turned around and looked at me.

"Yeah, she's _always_ like that." She sighed, but with a smile. "I'll just go change." She said and walked towards the exit of the cave, she turned around and looked at me. "No peeking." I, against my will, imagined Lucy changing, and quickly felt my face heat up. Not sure if I could trust my voice, I just nodded. She smiled back at me and went out.

Shortly after she came back in a black top, which sat tight, a pair of short shorts and the white jacket she wore yesterday. She let her golden hair fall freely and had a ribbon around her wrist. She looked so beautiful…

A golden light appeared again and Virgo appeared with two plates of food. She gave one to Lucy then looked up at me expressionlessly.

"Excuse me, Acnologia-Sama, but you will have to turn back to your Human form." Virgo said in a monotone voice.

"**Of course.**" I replied. How did she know I had a Human form? Had Loke told her? I let my dark magic surround me and transformed into a human. Virgo nodded and gave me my plate. She then saluted again and left. I looked at the empty spot where Virgo was just before and shook my head. "Well, she's _special_." I said to Lucy and sat down on my nest next to her.

Lucy nodded. "All my Spirits are. They each have their own special traits." She smiled. "Which is why I love them all so much." She added. I looked at her. She really meant it; it was evident in her eyes. We slowly began eating the food Virgo had brought us. It tasted really good.

"Lucy, there's something I need to tell you, before we leave to the Dragon Realm." I slowly said, I had decided to tell her now, so she had a little extra time to progress it all. She looked at me with those big, brown eyes.

"Yeah, what is it?" she asked innocently. Damn, this was going to be hard.

"Right, please let me say everything that I want to say, and then you can ask questions afterwards. Okay?" I asked. She nodded slowly, feeling how heavy the thing I wanted to tell her was. I began explaining everything to her, watching the different emotions pass over her face as I told her everything I told Loke. First shock and then hurt, probably because she felt betrayed her mother didn't tell her something so important, then more shock and confusion, then _more_ shock and then hate, compassion, most likely with her mother, then sadness as Layla's sickness was mentioned, and at last hate directed at her father. I let out the part of my father capture, as she already knew about that.

She looked like she was on the verge of tears, when I ended my story, but at the same time she really seemed mad. "That old man! I'm going to-" I stopped her before she could go deeper into her hatred to her father.

"Lucy, I know you hate him, but just forget him. Hurting _him_ won't make _you_ feel better, believe me." I said out of experience, with a hand on her shoulder. I didn't feel any better about my fathers' capture after having beaten all the guards at the Heartfilia Mansion. "It has the opposite effect." Then the tears began to fall. She covered her face in her hands and cried silently. I pulled her into a hug, to try to comfort her, but as I said in an awkward position, I moved her to my lap, and held her close to my chest. Her little body trembled in silent sobs. A golden light appeared near us and Loke appeared. We exchanged gazes, where I silently told him that I had told her.

He nodded and placed a hand on her back reassuringly. "It's alright, Lucy. We won't let your father hurt you again. I know your life has changed a lot in just a little time and that you feel you've been lied to your whole life, but find the _bright_ points in this." Loke said. Lucy turned her head from my chest and looked at Loke; she didn't say anything about him having come without her calling him. I chose not to say anything as I hadn't seen her in 7 years and didn't know much about her, while Loke did.

"_What_ bright points?" She asked with puffy and tearful eyes.

"The bright point, that you have an _awesome_ power that's just _waiting_ to be discovered, which you can beat Team Natsu up with any day. You have a big bunch of new people- Dragons you have to meet. You'll probably meet a lot of Dragons that will become like a _new_ nakama and you have a family, that won't use you as a tool. You don't have to carry your _fathers'_ name around any longer, to have that reminder less of the bastard. You have an exciting, new adventure in front of you. And your Mama died fighting for something _she_ believed in, even though it was your a-hole of a father." Loke smiled. Lucy seemed to consider his words, then nodded and smiled weakly at him. Not bad Loke, not bad at all. He had a way with words, which was quite clear. He seemed to hit spot-on with every word. She looked back at me with her now wet, brown eyes.

"When are we going to go to the Dragon Realm?" She asked me eagerly, with excited eyes. Seemingly she had forgotten all about her father. I smiled at her, happy that she'd gotten over her sadness, even though it had ended surprisingly quickly.

"We can leave right now?" I suggested, almost getting as eager as her just by looking at her. Her face lit up at my question. She nodded and stepped away from me to give me space to transform. I chuckled lightly at her eagerness and began transforming. In an instant my body had transformed into that of a Dragons.

I looked down at her from above; she gaped at me with wide eyes. I could smell fear in the air. She's still not used to this? Well, she's going to have a hard time in the Dragon Realm then. Then the scent of fear disappeared as fast as it had appeared.

I picked her up gently with my tail, trying not to frighten her, but she squealed anyway. I did the same to Loke, when she was placed safely on my bag. Much to my disappointment, he didn't squeal.

"**Are you two ready?**" I asked as I walked out of my cave. I felt two sets of feet on my back, moving closer to my neck. One sat where Lucy sat on her first flight, and the other right behind, with his or her legs on either side of the other one. I glanced back at them, and saw Lucy closest to my neck and Loke right behind her and with his arms around her waist. Something moved in the pit of my stomach and it wasn't comfortable.

Lucy smiled her warm and cheery smile at me. "Yeah!" She said loud. I smiled toothily, ignoring the weird feeling, and then I spread out my wings as we'd reached the outside world. I flapped my wings in two powerful strokes so we floated above the trees. Then I flew higher into the sky, and soon we were over the clouds. I slowed down a little, so we were levitating above the clouds, not moving an inch. Not even a breeze brewed up here, there was as calm and beautiful as always.

I began channeling my magic to a spot in front of us, which every Dragon could instinctively, and soon enough the portal appeared in the sky in front of us. "**Alright, I'll open the portal to the Dragon Realm. There'll be a weird feeling as if you're shooting through the air weightless. You won't fall off me, there's some weird gravity there.**" I babbled on. "**Anyway, here we go.**" The two didn't get a chance to answer. I shot forward and plunged into the portal with the wings held close into me to get a greater speed. It was a big void-like circle, the portal, you could see stars and blue and reddish shades twisting around in it.

**In the sky above Saraj forest, Earthland **

**Lucy's P.O.V**

I watched as a black hole appeared in the sky in front of us. So _that's_ the portal? It looked like the stars were twisted around with streaks of red and a dark blue, almost black color. It was a little like Acnologia's eyes, but darker, if ever possible. The two colors wrapped around each other and blended together to create a dark purple color, which mixed with the red and the blue and twisted around with the two colors. Stars twinkled in the midst of the color-frenzy.

As I admired the vortex, I noticed Acnologia had been explaining something. "**You won't fall off me, there's some weird gravity in there.**" I heard him say. "**Anyway, here we go.**" He said, and before either Loke or I could answer him, he shot forward and plunged into the vortex with his wings pressed into his sides, to gain a greater speed. When we were inside the vortex, he spread his wings out again, to keep balance and to slow down the speed again. The span of his wing was amazing, 10 meters at least.

I felt this weird sensation, as if I was flying through the air in an incredible speed weightless. I quickly latched onto Acnologia's scales and grabbed them in a vice grip in fear of falling off.

Loke was chuckling behind me. "Were you even listening to what he was saying?"he asked close to my ear, so only I would hear it. I looked back over my shoulder at him and saw the amused glint in his eyes through his sunglasses.

"_Of course_ I was!" I exclaimed. I did hear some of what he said, so it wasn't a complete lie. Wait – '_You won't fall off me_.'. Oh, he probably meant now, in the portal. I slowly released my vice grip on Acnologia's scales and straightened my back.

Loke chuckled behind me again; he obviously knew that I hadn't listened. "Whatever you say, Princess." Loke teased.

All of a sudden, the feeling of shooting through the air weightless stopped, as if we had crashed into a wall, and instead of the twisted colors of the vortex, we now hovered over a wide field. The field had fresh, emerald-green grass and many flowers in beautiful colors scattered everywhere. A little farther away, I could see a river with crystal clear, glittering water twisting in soft curves, on the other side of the river bank, there was a gigantic forest with tall trees with a deep green color of leaves and mighty crowns. The sky was a soft blue color and a few fluffy and white clouds flew around. The sun shone brightly down at the field and lit it all up. Everything in Dragon-size, meaning everything was _gigantic, _but nonetheless a beautiful sight.

"Whoa…" I muttered, mostly to myself, in awe.

Acnologia slowly dove down and landed carefully on the ground. "**Yeah, I know. I have that very same expression every time I get here.**" He said slowly. "**Welcome to the Dragon Realm you two.**" He chuckled. Loke and I bumped up and down in tact with Acnologia's laughs. He quieted down in an instant and stared hard at the forest on the other side of the river. "**Someone's coming. Stay silent and hide.**" Acnologia muttered to us. Loke nodded and sent me a glance, telling me I could call him if I needed to, and then disappeared to the Spirit World. I slowly and carefully crawled under one of Acnologia's wings and hid there. I could only just see the ground from my sitting place, but not much more.

Acnologia looked sideways towards the forest, hiding me from the sight of the incoming Dragons.

Soon I heard flaps of wings, more than one pair, 5 I think. The sounds came closer in a somewhat fast pace. I felt a gust of wind, even under Acnologia's wing, playing with my hair and saw 5 sets of Dragon legs and feet landing. One in a light blue color, two in a darker blue, but still light, and two black. Well that's just _perfect_.

Acnologia pressed his wing a little closer to me, and thus hiding me completely from the sight of the Dragons and reversed too.

**Acnologia's P.O.V**

5 Dragons landed in front of me. The Sky Dragons usually had the Guard duty, to see who entered and left the Dragon Realm through the portals, but today two Chaos Dragons followed along with three Sky Dragons, and even more surprising, one of those Sky Dragons was the Head Dragon, Grandine Rangi. Why is _she_ on the Guard duty? Isn't there other things she needs to attend to?

"**Acnologia. I thought you were told to **_**only**_** come back when you had found **_**Ngá Ngaro kotahi (The Lost one)**_**.**" Grandine said with her soft and kind voice. Even though her words were a little harsh, she spoke politely and kindly, not threatingly at all. Many thought she was the most beautiful of the Head Dragons. I often thought the very same thing. Grandine had light blue, almost white, scales covering her long and elegant body. She had a long neck and a long tail. Her wings were angel-like, made up of the purest white feather, although they were a little draconic in their form. She had the same pure, white feathers trailing down her neck and down to the end of the tail, only adding to her gracefulness. The feathers was the trademark of the Sky Dragons, they all had them somewhere on their body. Her horns were long and curved first down and then up, the end of it pointing in the sky. They were a soft purple color and her long claws were the same soft purple color. Her eyes were a sky blue color, maybe a little lighter.

"**Te áheitanga katoa (Hello) Grandine.**" I greeted and bowed my head slightly. "**Ae (Yes), I know I was told to only come back when I've found **_**Ngá Ngaro kotahi (The Lost one), **_**but I have an **_**errand**_** I need to take care of.**" I lied. I always hated lying to Grandine; she was the one of the Dragons that was the first to come to me, when my father was put in the Magic Council's jail. Grandine looked at me with a slight frown on her beautiful face and then nodded.

The little Chaos Dragon next to Grandine was jumping up and down in excitement and with sparkles in its eyes. The little Dragon was jet black, just like me. He had swirly patterns, which were connected all over his little form, a little like the marks I had, they were a dark blue color. His wings were more traditional than mine, although a little extra pointy in the ends, they were covered in the same patterns as on the rest of him. All the way down his back and to the middle of his tail, there were those fan-like things I also had on the end of my tail and my head, they were the trademark of the Chaos Dragons and, just like with the Sky Dragons, we had them somewhere on us. They were the same dark blue color as his swirls. Basurils' horns were small, since he was still young, but the curled slight down and around and were a dirty white color, his claws likewise dirty white. His eyes were a bright shade of yellow

I recognized the little Dragon as my cousin Basuril Tehepo. He was a prodigy among the Chaos Dragons, he had discovered his Dragon at the age of 7, which is highly unusual, normally we first discover our Dragon at the age of 15 or later, but this little guy had at half the time. It didn't surprise me that out of all the Chaos Dragons, he was the one to be on Guard duty, he didn't particularly excel in fighting, but he was extraordinarily fast, so he could fly back and pass the message if there was trouble.

He stared at me with those sparkly eyes as he couldn't contain his excitement. He was 8 now, and he had always seen me as his big brother, for some reason that is still unknown to me, and he looked up to me like he looked up to no other Dragon.

I smiled at the little Dragon as he happily skipped over to me. "**Ac-nii-chan! I've missed you so **_**much**_**!**" He exclaimed happily and nuzzled into my leg. He only reached to about my shoulder, since he was so young. Luckily, he had chosen the opposite side of Lucy.

"**I've missed you too Basuril. It's been a long time, hasn't it?**" I smiled down at the little Dragon.

Basuril nodded vigorously, but with even more sparkles in his eyes than before. "_**Way**_** too long!**" He exclaimed. "**It's those **_**stupid**_** Head Dragons' fault! They shouldn't dump the task of finding **_**Ngá Ngaro kotahi (The Lost one)**_** all on you and then forbid you from coming to the Dragon Realm **_**without**_** her!**" He added. I sweat dropped at the little Dragons' energy and his bravery for saying something like that about the Head Dragons, when one of them was in his presence. Grandine cleared her throat behind the Dragon. Basuril whipped his head back and stared at the Head Sky Dragon. Then he beamed innocently at her. "**Except you, Grandine-sama, you're **_**always**_** nice and kind!**" He reassured her. I shook my head at my cousin. Basuril, Basuril, Basuril.

I looked at the three other Dragons. The other Chaos Dragon was Basuril's father, Dragovin Tehepo. He, like his son, was black and with a dark blue swirl pattern, although it was a darker shade of blue and bigger and wider. He was basically just a bigger form of Basuril. His wings were the same, halfway traditional Dragon wings and also covered in the swirls. He had dark blue fans going down his back, which stopped halfway down his tail. His horns were the same dirty white as Basurils', except full-grown, and his claws likewise. His eyes were also yellow, although a lighter shade of it.

The other two Sky Dragons were the twins Hasora and Gasarem Rangi. They looked an awful lot like each other, they were both a sky blue color, which was a little darker than Grandines' eyes. They had a gold-ish belly. Their wings were the traditional Dragons wings, with fours 'fingers', as I preferred calling them. Their wings were the sky blue color on the back and the gold-ish color on the inside. They had small feather on the back of their heads, a little like my fans, and on the back of their legs, just under where they connected with their torso, and down to their knee, in a bluish white color. The only differences between the two, was that the small replicas' of Grandines' horns were that Hasoras' were light Gray and Gasarems' were a darker gray, their eyes, where Hasoras' were a mix between pink and purple and Gasarems' a cerulean blue and the fact that Hasora was a girl and Gasarem a boy.

I glanced at Grandine and locked gazes with her. She silently asked me if there was something I wanted to tell her, and I nodded slightly. She looked into my eyes again and then nodded. She cleared her throat to get the attention of the surrounding Dragons, mainly Basuril, who had skipped over to Hasora and Gasarem and chatted happily with them about completely unrelated thing, pissing them slightly off in the process.

All Dragons shifted their gaze to the Head Sky Dragon. "**You four can go back now, I need to speak with Acnologia.**" She said, making no room for discussion. The surrounding Dragons nodded, except Basuril, who was pouting.

He shook his head defiantly. "**But Ac-nii-chan **_**just**_** came back! I wanna be with him!**" He exclaimed disobediently. Dragovin stepped forward and was about to say something, when Grandine beat him to it.

"**Basuril, go back with your father. This is not an offer, this is an **_**order**_**.**" She said firmly, but not harshly. The little Chaos Dragon was just about to say something, but stopped himself and looked at the ground, muttering an apology. He slowly walked toward his father, who looked disapprovingly at his son.

Basuril looked up at me with sad eyes. "**Goodbye, Ac-nii-chan.**" He said to me with a low, sad voice.

I chuckled a little at the little Dragon. "**I'll see you later, Basuril.**" I said as I knew I was going to stay in the Dragon Realm for a while. He beamed at me, suddenly changing his mood completely, earning a sweat drop from all of the surrounding Dragons.

The four Dragons spread their wings and flew off; I watched as Basuril sped off away from the others and wondered what the little trickster was up to.

When they were out of sight, I turned to Grandine and faced her. "**So what is it you wanted to tell me?**" Grandine asked with her kind eyes, urging me to share my little secret under my wing.

"**Well, you see Grandine-**" I started as I began relaxing my wing and moving my tail to wrap it around Lucy's waist gently. "**I have actually **_**already**_** found **_**Ngá Ngaro kotahi (the Lost one)**_**.**" I said and pulled Lucy out from under my wing.

**Over the forest, Dragon Realm **

**Basuril's P.O.V**

I flew over the forest,Socubedo, with my father and Hasora and Gasarem. I smiled, I had a plan. I sped up, flying a little faster over the forest. I looked back over my shoulder at my father. "**I'm going to the playgrounds!**" I said as I quickened my speed. My father nodded and I went full speed.

After flying for a little while, I looked back over my shoulder at the smaller and smaller adult Dragons. When they were out of sight, I quickly dove down in the forest and flew silently back to where I had come from. When the others flew past me, I hovered motionlessly in the air hidden under the tree-crowns and waited till they were gone. Then I sped up and flew in a faster pace back to the field. I dodged every tree effortlessly, and soon the Socubedo forest thinned and I knew I was getting close.

I landed on the ground without making any noises and walked silently closer to the field, where I saw Ac-nii-chan and Grandine-sama looking in the direction of where we had flown. Then they turned and looked at each other. "**So what was it you wanted to tell me?**" Grandine-sama asked.

"**Well, you see Grandine-**" Ac-nii-chan started and moved around with the wing opposite of me and stuck his tail under it. "**I have actually **_**already**_** found **_**Ngá Ngaro kotahi (The Lost one).**_" He said and pulled something out from under his wing. Ac-nii-chan had found _Ngá Ngaro kotahi (The Lost one)_? Why didn't he tell us back then?

I looked as Ac-nii-chan pushed a blonde female human out in front of Grandine-sama. Huh? Wasn't _Ngá Ngaro kotahi (The Lost one)_ supposed to be a Dragon? Has this girl not found her Dragon yet?

I decided to stay hidden in the shadows of the trees and listen to Ac-nii-chan and Grandine-sama's conversation.

**On the field, Dragon Realm **

**Lucy's P.O.V**

Acnologia reached for me with his tail, and wrapped it around my waist. "**I have actually **_**already **_**found **_**Ngá Ngaro kotahi (The Lost one)**_**.**" He put me down on the ground and pushed me forward gently with his tail.

I looked up at Grandine in front of me. She was so big, like Acnologia, but even taller than him and had a long neck. She was beautiful, had light blue, almost white, scales covering her entire body and then the angel-like wings in white and same with her graceful, long horns. She had white feathers going down from her back and ending at her tail. She looked at me with wide, light blue eyes.

Then she looked up at Acnologia again. "**Is she **_**Ngá Ngaro kotahi (The Lost one)**_**?**" She asked incredulously. I knew that 'Ngá Ngaro kotahi' was me, it was quite obvious after the way Acnologia had tensed his wing whenever those words were mentioned. However, I didn't know what they meant. Acnologia nodded, and Grandine looked at him for a while, then nodded and looked down at me again. She lowered her head down so she was looking into my eyes. Then she smiled a kind smile to me. "**Hello, **_**Ngaro**__**kotahi (Lost one)**_**, or **_**should**_** I say Lucy Mau'Te Rongo?**" She asked kindly and with her soft and graceful voice.

I just stared at the Dragon in front of me with slightly widened eyes, speechless. This was the Dragon Wendy had called her mother, the one that suddenly disappeared. I mentally slapped myself and regained my ability to talk. "Hi, I'm Lucy Hear- _Mau'Te Rongo_, but just call me Lucy." I smiled my usual warm smile at the Dragon.

She looked at me with her beautiful sky-blue eyes. "**Alright, Lucy. We have a **_**lot**_** to talk about.**" Grandine said with a kind voice. She lay down gracefully and then raised her head up above me. Acnologia sat down as well. Grandine looked at Acnologia. "**How much does she **_**already**_** know?**" She asked.

"**She knows about the whole Dragon Community and-**"Acnologia started, but was interrupted by Grandine.

"**Acnologia, you **_**know**_** that wasn't what I was asking.**" Grandine said with a calm and firm tone. I looked between the two Dragons, wondering when I'd be included in this conversation again.

"**Ae (yes), I'm sorry.**" Acnologia apologized, and then continued. "**She knows about Layla and Kurama, and the two of us, she also knows about Jude Heartfilia and what he did.**" Acnologia said slowly and looked down at me with sad eyes. Oh, so _that_ was what this was about? My life? Well, that's just fantastic, just what I needed.

"**Okay, what about **_**herself**_**?**" Grandine asked him. Okay, _seriously_, how long are they going to keep me out of all of this? I felt a vein about to pop near my temple.

Acnologia took a deep breath. "**I haven't told her about **_**that**_** yet.**" He muttered.

Grandine nodded and looked down at me with her beautiful face from above. "**Well, Lucy. You know how your mother was a Dragon and was the Head Dragon of the Peace Clan, right?**" Grandine asked with her kind voice. I nodded, the fact that my mother was a Dragon had not completely sunk in yet, even though I knew it, I couldn't believe it. "**Good. Well, that **_**also**_** means that you, child, were **_**supposed**_** to be the Head of the Peace Clan when you mother passed away.**" I felt a pain in my heart when my mothers' death was mentioned. But then the words sunk in and I gaped slightly. I was supposed to be the _Head of the Peace Clan_, but I'm not a Dragon I'm a human. "**However due to your father locking you away in that mansion of his and never letting you go, and us being unable to get you out, your **_**aunt**_**, Silvia Mau'Te Rongo has taken the spot.**" Grandine said with a smile. "**You'll get the spot as the Head Dragon of your Clan when you're ready; we just have to awaken the Dragon inside you.**" Grandine said softly and looked at me with equally soft and kind eyes. I just kept gaping at her. _My_ Dragon? _I_ had a Dragon inside me? Since when?

"B-but, I-I don't have a D-Dragon inside me. I'm human." I insisted stammering, as I realized that my words were not true. My mother was a Dragon, I was the daughter of the Head Dragon of the Peace Clan, so naturally I would have my own Dragon too. Why hadn't I figured _that_ out?

Grandine smiled sweetly down at me. "**Lucy, I know this is a hard blow to you, but remember that both I and your mate, Acnologia, will be here for you, if you would **_**ever**_** have questions.**" She said as if she was explaining something to a child. I nodded slowly at the Dragon in front of me. Yes, that was right; Acnologia was my _mate_, whatever that means. I chose that it would be the time to ask now.

"G-Grandine?" I stammered, the mighty and beautiful Dragon locked gazes with me. "W-what does it mean that Acnologia is m-my mate?" I asked, close to tears.

Grandine looked down at me with a shocked expression; she looked up at Acnologia with a disapproving look. "**Well, why don't we let him **_**explain**_** for himself?**" She asked, still looking at Acnologia, although squinting her eyes slightly.

Acnologia visibly gulped and nodded slowly. The whole situation reminded me of Team Natsu and how Erza usually scared the two boys. I cut off the thought there and focused my attention at Acnologia.

He looked down at me with his dark blue eyes and sat straight with his tail over his front feet. "**O-okay, uhm, you see, i-it's like this-**" He stammered unable to get the words out. What about it was so hard? He sighed, inhaled deeply and continued. "**Well, it is – how do I explain this – kinda like a marriage in the human world. Except it's a **_**little**_** different.**" He paused then shook his head. "**Okay, scratch that, it's **_**very**_** different. It's – a little like a human marriage – where two Dragons bind their lives together, unlike with the humans though, this bond can't be broken, the two Dragons will be together until one of them dies, and the whole thing **_**doesn't**_** happen in public, it's quite personal actually. When one of them dies, the other will slowly grow insane with the grief from losing their mates.**" I gasped at this and looked at him with a horrified expression. Acnologia looked down at me, and continued quickly. "**You know, Dragons' senses and abilities are enhanced to that of a human, and so are their feelings. So when a pair of Dragon **_**mates**_**, their feelings towards the other will **_**also**_** be deepened, even more than they already were. If they love each other deeply, then that will be enhanced, and when the other dies, the grief the mate will feel would also be **_**worse**_** than that of a human. However, if the mating takes place when one of them is forced into it and hates its mate, then those feelings will also be heightened, but even if the mate then dies, the Dragon will still feel an immense pain and grief with the loss. And there's no way to break it, if a pair of Dragons have been mated. They'd live with each other and those feelings the rest of their **_**lives**_**.**" Acnologia explained in one long go. He looked a little flustered when he was done explaining, but I didn't think much of it. I was just staring at him as if I had seen a ghost. My face had paled completely. S-so I was supposed to _mate_ with Acnologia, and have it stay that way the rest of my life? I was speechless, completely unable to say or do a thing. How are you _supposed_ to react to something like this?

Acnologia looked down at me with an apologetic look. "**I'm sorry I didn't explain earlier, but… I didn't find the **_**right**_** time to tell you.**" He apologized, and then moved his head down so it was just inches away from me. "**But remember, if it doesn't work out for you, or you don't **_**want**_** to go through with it, then we **_**won't**_** do it. Okay?**" He asked me with a serious expression. I nodded slowly as I processed everything I was just told. He lifted his head up again. If it didn't work out for me, then we wouldn't do it. But what about himself? Wait… Does that mean-.

"**That just about covered it.**" Grandine said, I turned around to look at her. A smile appeared on Grandines' face. "**Except you **_**should**_** know that he will become extremely possessive. You, of course, will also become slightly possessive, but the males are **_**always**_** worse.**" Grandine smirked at Acnologia who looked to the side with a frown. She fixed her gaze on me again, and smiled at me with her kind smile. "**I know this is all hard for you to understand, and much less believe, but it'll come. Now I think you should meet the other Head Dragons, what do you say?**" She asked. I thought about it and nodded, as I didn't completely trust my voice. Acnologia cleared his throat, drawing both Grandine's and my attention.

"**Well, Grandine. We didn't **_**just**_** come here because we wanted to meet you and the Head Dragons and announce her retrieval; we **_**originally**_** came here to train Lucy.**" Acnologia said. Oh yeah, that's right, that was our original goal, wasn't it? Grandine looked at him with an incredulous expression. "**Ae, ae (Yes, yes). I know. We'll explain when everyone's here.**" Acnologia said. He glanced down at me for approval and I nodded. Might as well tell them.

Grandine nodded slowly and stood up. "**Alright, I'll just call our messenger.**" She smiled knowingly at Acnologia, who looked amused in return. I wondered what silent conversation the two of them were having. Grandine smiled down at me with that knowing smile. "**Lucy there's someone you have to meet. He's a bit of a prodigy, actually.**" She looked over towards the forest. "**Basuril, you can come out now.**" She said a little louder to something in the forest. I followed her gaze and soon a Dragon stepped out from the shadows of the trees. It was all black with a dark blue swirl pattern. It had pointy wings that were also decorated with the swirls. It had dark blue fan-like things going down its back and curling, white horns. It had two bright yellow eyes. It was much smaller than both Grandine and Acnologia. Actually it looked like a little kid and the pout on its face didn't help it.

"**Aww, Grandine-sama, how could you see me **_**all**_** the way over there?**" It complained, spread its wings and flew over the river. That was the Dragon who fussed over Acnologia before; it was supposed to go with his father and two other Dragons. Why is it here now?

"**I didn't **_**see**_** you, I **_**heard**_** you.**" Grandine smiled. She looked at me again. "**This is Basuril Tehepo. He's a Chaos Dragon just like Acnologia; actually the two of them are cousins.**" She moved her gaze to Basuril again, as he slowly walked across the field, still pouting because he was discovered. I thought they were brothers. Why does Basuril call Acnologia 'Ac-nii-chan' then? "**As you've probably noticed, Basuril is much smaller than Acnologia and I, that is because he is only 8 years old and discovered his Dragon at the age of 7. Normally you first discover you Dragon when you are 15 or older, but Basuril is quite the rule-breaker. **_**Aren't**_** you Basuril?**" She asked the little guy.

Basuril took the last few steps up to us. Standing here close up, I could see his full height. He was just as high as a big horse, and went to Acnologia's shoulder. He bowed his head at Grandine. "**Ahau pouri (I'm sorry) Grandine-sama, but I was just **_**so**_** curious and I haven't seen Ac-nii-chan for a **_**long**_** time.**" He sent the big Dragon irresistible puppy eyes. "**Can you **_**forgive**_** me?**" He asked with a childish tone. I almost squealed at the pure cuteness of the little Dragon. Grandine sighed and nodded, she couldn't resist those eyes either. Basuril beamed at her and then shifted his gaze to stare at me. "**So **_**you're**__**Ngá Ngaro kotahi (The Lost one)**_**?**" He asked with a smile. I nodded, not quite sure how I should react to the Dragon. He beamed at me and wagged his tail. "**Really? This is so **_**cool**_**! Ac-nii-chan has told me a **_**lot**_** about you!**" He exclaimed and buried his head in my stomach. I slowly began patting the little Dragons head and looked up at Acnologia, asking what to do. He just gave me a shrug before averting his gaze somewhere else.

I looked down at the little Dragon, who was nuzzling his head into my stomach. "Is that so? Well, I hope it was good things he said then." I said to him and stroke his scales. They were nice to touch, and felt a little like snake-skin.

Basuril moved back and nodded at me. "**I can't **_**wait**_** to tell my friends about this!**" He exclaimed happily.

Grandine gave him a hard stare. "**Basuril, it is **_**very**_** important that you **_**don't**_** say anything about Lucy to the other Dragons, they must not hear it. Yet, anyway.**" Grandine said firmly. Basuril tilted his head and stared at her questioningly. She sighed. "**You can't tell anyone because she isn't quite ready to meet them yet.**" Grandine explained softly. Basuril formed an 'o' with his mouth and nodded.

"**Alright, Basuril. We need you to go get the Head Dragons of the original Clans, okay?**" Acnologia asked. "**Please don't say the real reason why they have to come, just say it's urgent and that Grandine and I need to speak with them.**" He explained.

Basuril jumped up and down in the air a few times. He nodded quickly, spread his wings and took off towards the forest. We all watched as the little Dragon flew off in a crazy speed. I sweat dropped at his energy. "He has _some_ energy." I said slowly. The two others nodded in agreement.

"**Well then we'll just have to wait for them to show up.**" Grandine said and lay down again.

"**Although I already have edited the translations into the story, there might also be other things down in the translations you might want to check out. So please look at the translations when you read. Thank you.**" Line464d said. "**Heh, I'm sorry for maybe or maybe not tricking you here, but I was afraid you wouldn't read it if I didn't do it like this. ^_**^" Line464d smiled to all of her followers, favoriters, reviewers and readers apologetically.

**Lucy you lucky girl, having two too-handsome-for-their-own-good boys caring for you and all, AND an awesome power that in the end lets you transform into a Dragon and kick Team Natsus' butts. **_**Who**_** in their right minds **_**wouldn't**_** want that? Except straight boys maybe, they'd probably rather have it ladies than boys, am I right?**

**I know I'd LOVE to be a friggin' Dragon, I could easily live without the two guys if I could transform into a Dragon! I couldn't use two boys to anything, I only need one, and I'd really hate picking between them. Dragon and Single, I could live with that. At least I know I'm AWESOME! Maybe I'm just weird. Yeah. That's it. Does everyone agree? ^_^**

**I hope my descriptions are alright, and you can somewhat picture the Dragons and other persons in your minds.**

**Oh, and 'Socubedo' is the name of the forest, just so you don't get too confused ;)**

**TRANSLATIONS**

'**Te áheitanga katoa' means 'hello' in, funny enough, Maori, and 'Ngá Ngaro kotahi' means 'The Lost one', 'Ae' means 'Yes'. I've decided that the original Dragon language will be Maori. I am deeply sorry to you Maori-folk out there if I spell anything wrong or anything, but I'm just using Google Translate and translating every word separately, so…. Yeah. Grandine's last name 'Rangi' means 'Sky'. 'Ahau pouri' means 'I'm sorry'. Oh, my, there'll be a lot of things I'll have to translate. .-. I'm looking forward to it (Not really). **

**Just me wondering out loud… But is a Dragons' foot called a 'foot' or a 'paw'? Hmm….. I dunno! HELP ME?!**

**Thank you Liune, naru 11, riridreaheart, Daddys little crazy bitch, Dyeni, inuyasharocks123, f-k-iamanotaku-yeah, phamali2003, FluffyMiracle, CloudCarnivore, Naeda Deasly, pianogirl2016, Guest, Borntostalku, anubas, dashort12, Lucifer's remnants, Darkangelslayer, Your Ojou-Sama, Ayama-knight, cbrezzy0101, natachoco, .52, Moonstar1312, natsuxlucyrulez, FairyTail123 (Guest), clumzybeans and all you other readers, for reading, favoriting, following and/or reviewing! We're nearing 100 followers already, and it's only just passed a month! THANK YOU PEOPLE!**

~** Line464d**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

**WE'VE REACHED OVER 100 FOLLOWERS ALREADY! THANKS TO ALL OF YOU! I am so happy, I can't even express myself. I never expected my story to grow so rapidly, it hasn't been much more than a month! Thank you, thank you, thank you for following my story!**

**Okay dudes and dudettes, there'll be a LOT of introductions to new peo- Eh, **_**Dragons**_**, in this chapter, so stay sharp ;)**

**Naeda Beasley mentioned that maybe it would be better if I put the Maori words in parenthesis, because it was annoying to scroll down all the time. So, I will try it out in this chapter, plus also having the translations in the bottom, just because. Although I put the words in parenthesis, I advise you to look in the bottom anyway, there might be some other translations, which is not a part of their speech. Anyway, please tell me what you prefer! Oh, and thank you so much Neada Beasley for mentioning it. Don't hesitate to tell me if you find anything else I could do better!**

**Ah and, not quite as good of an announcement, I have to go on a vacation once again. To make long story short; divorced parents, mom wants to outdo father, but will never be able to do so. Quite sad, really. It's only 10 days this time though, as it is my father I'm going with. Some may say I'm lucky, going on two long vacations, but actually it easily becomes too much. I have no room to complain though, they just mean all the good things in the world.**

**Anyway, look there, spilling unnecessary life-story… Ah well, hope I didn't bore you too much. I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made. R&R!**

**Disclaimer: Slowpoke still owns Fairy Tail, the profit goes to him.**

**The Dragon Realm, over Socubedo forest **

**Basuril's P.O.V**

I flew at top speed towards the Fire Clan. I had decided I'd start out there. It was also the one of the Clans closest by. The Socubedo forest, passed by under me too fast for the eye to see.

So Ac-nii-chan had found _Ngá Ngaro kotahi (The Lost one) _all this time? That's quite impressive, I bet finding her was like finding a needle in a stack of hay. That girl, she seemed nice too. And she's pretty. I bet Ac-nii-chan likes her. I puffed out my cheeks, trying to keep my laughter back, but I couldn't hold it back, so I burst out laughing. Flying midair at my top speed and all. It was just too hilarious. Ac-nii-chan in love with _Ngá Ngaro kotahi (The Lost one)_? Pfft, no way!

Then I remembered something. "**But… Weren't they supposed to be mates?**" I mumbled to myself. I thought about it, but after a while shook my head. So what if they were? Ac-nii-chan is too cool for _any_ girl!

In the midst of my thoughts, I bumped into someone. The impact threw me out of my thoughts, I backed a little and looked up into a green eye. "**Ahau pouri (I'm sorry), I didn't see you.**" I said and looked down in shame and embarrassment.

"**Oh no, it's quite alright.**" The Dragon said with a female voice, she began giggling. I glanced up at her. She was a beautiful, long, slender orange Dragon; she had a pair of big wings and a long neck. Her belly was sand-colored and down her back and to her tail were spike-like things that resembled fire, the trademark of the Fire Dragons, in a flaming red color. She had two horns too, sand-colored just like her belly. They weren't quite as long and graceful as Grandine-sama's, but they were kinda long too and looked like a pair of spikes, that curled gently down in the ends. Her wings were quite wide and that orange color. So I had reached the Fire Clan already? Somehow she seemed vaguely familiar to me. She looked down at me with her emerald-green eyes. "**Wait, aren't you the little guy from the Chaos Clan? Basuril Tehepo, if I remember correctly?**" She asked kindly, but firmly. Just like Grandine-sama.

I nodded slowly, not sure what else to do. "**Yeah, that's me.**" I confirmed, still a little embarrassed that I'd bumped into her like that.

She smiled down at me. "**I was right. Well, Te áheitanga katoa (Hello) little one.**" She greeted.

I beamed at her, she seemed nice. "**Te áheitanga katoa (Hello) Lady! Oh, and what's your name, by the way?**" I asked, still grinning.

She looked a little baffled by my question, but quickly regained her composure. "**You don't know who I am?**" I shook my head and she began giggling again. "**Well, Basuril, I'd have thought you would be able to recognize the Fire Clans Second in Command, Chylirobi Kapura.**" She kept on giggling. I backed away again and knelt down in midair. How could I not have seen? This the Second in Command, for goodness sake!

"**I apologize for my insolence! It was wrong of me to not recognize you, Chylirobi-sama!**" I said quickly. Uhh, I used such a big word!

Chylirobi-sama laughed at me. "**Oh, get up Basuril-kun, no need to kneel for me. Everyone forgets now and then.**" She reassured me. I looked up at her shyly and got up from my kneeling position. I flapped my wings a pair of times to regain my balance. "**Where are you going, anyway?**" She asked after I'd gotten my balance back. I was about to answer when someone cut me to it.

"**Chylirobi~. Who are you talking to up there?**" A voice called out to Chylirobi-sama. I could see a vein pop at her temple. The other Dragon flew up next to Chylirobi-sama. He was bigger than her, much bigger. He was as red as fire and his wings were ginormous! His neck and tail were relatively short though, compared to Chylirobi-sama anyway. His belly was a dark orange, almost red, color. His wings were giant, much, much, _much _bigger than the female Dragons with flaming red color on the side pointing to the sky and the dark orange on the side pointing to the ground. He had the spikes-like flames around the back of his head instead of a pair of horns and down to the middle of his neck in a dark red color, running in two lines, one for each nonexistent horn. At the end of his tail, the same flame-like spikes covered it completely, making it look like the tail was on fire. His eyes were onyx and staring right at me. Th-that was the Fire Clans Head Dragon! Igneel Kapura! "**Ohh, isn't this the little prodigy Basuril Tehepo from the Chaos Clan?!**" Igneel-sama asked excitedly.

I knelt down again towards Igneel. "**Ae (Yes) sir! I'm Basuril Tehepo of the Chaos Clan! At your service, sir!**" I said a little too loudly.

The big Dragon chuckled at me. "**Just call me Igneel, kid.**" He laughed. I nodded in my kneeling position. "**Get up already.**" He said amusedly. I got up quickly, standing stiffly and saw him smiling toothily at me. His sharp fangs were showing, but somehow it wasn't intimidating, it was friendly. "**That's better.**" He nodded at me. "**Now, why are you here, kid?**" He asked, still grinning.

I told him what Ac-nii-chan told me to tell the Head Dragons. "**You have to meet Grandine-sama in the clearing on the other side of the Socubedo forest.**" Igneel-sama raised an eyebrow. "**I was told it was quite urgent, Igneel-sama.**" I said and bowed my head slightly in respect as mother had taught me to when addressing higher ranked Dragons.

Chylirobi-sama made an understanding face. "**So that's why you're here, Basuril-kun.**" She nodded at herself.

I nodded. "**Yeah, now I just need to talk with the other Head Dragons.**" I sighed. It would take some time. How was I going to get them all together in so short time? It was practically impossible. Not to mention I had to get to the Head Dragons first, this time with Igneel-sama, I was lucky, but who says that it will be like this with the others? Maybe I won't even get the chance to speak with them.

Igneel-sama coughed and pulled me out of my thoughts. I looked up at him. "**I see. Kid, seeing as you're still a kid, I'll have Chylirobi here assist you.**" Chylirobi-sama glared at Igneel-sama and a vein was just about to burst when Igneel-sama continued. "**You'll need her help if you want to talk with the others. Some of them might not even let you talk with them.**" Igneel-sama ended off.

Chylirobi-samas' vein had only grown bigger as Igneel-sama spoke. "**Why do **_**I**_** have to do it?**" She asked, rather furious. I looked nervously between the two, I didn't want to come in between them or anything.

Igneel-sama looked at her with bored eyes. Then they lit up in amusement. "**Because **_**I**_** have to talk with Grandine, and I don't have **_**time**_** to guide this kid around.**" He smiled. "**Besides, you'd never turn down a kid like him, would you?**" He asked with a glint in his eyes.

It somehow seemed to calm Chylirobi-sama somewhat down. "**Right, I'll do it.**" She sighed in exasperation and looked at me with her green eyes. "**Come on, Basuril-kun. We'll get the rest of the Head Dragons.**" She flapped her wings and flew off in the direction of the Ice Clan.

I flapped my wings a little faster and caught up to her. "**Right!**" I cheered. I heard mighty strokes of wings behind me, and saw Igneel-sama speed off over the Socubedo forest. When he moved his muscles with the sun lighting up his scales, it looked like he was on fire. "**Whoa…**" I muttered to myself.

Chylirobi-sama looked back at me, as I had fallen a little back. "**What is it, Basuril-kun?**" She followed my gaze to the Head Fire Dragon and shook her head lightly. "**That big showoff.**" She muttered by herself. "**Are you coming Basuril-kun?**" She asked me over the wind.

"**Coming!**" I yelled over the wind and raced up to her. We flew off to the Ice Clan to get the Head Ice Dragon.

**In the Clearing near Socubedo **

**Lucy's P.O.V**

The three of us, Acnologia, Grandine and I, were sitting on the field, enjoying the gentle breezes in silence. Grandine was lying on her stomach with her head on her clawed feet and enjoyed the warm sunlight on her scales and the gentle breezes in her feathers. I was sitting on Acnologia's foot with my back leaning against his leg. He said he didn't mind, so I had planted myself there. I closed my eyes and let the warm sunlight heat up my skin.

I opened my eyes again and glanced at the big Sky Dragon. So that was Wendys' foster mother? I could see some of Wendy in the Dragon, she'd probably adopted the Dragons' personality traits after having been with her in so many years. Although Wendy was a bit more timid while this Dragon was quite firm with its words. It was so weird to know that I was meeting the little, sweet girls' long lost mother, who she was still looking for. I had to ask her why she'd left her child some day.

"**One of them is soon here…**" Grandine mumbled, not bothering to open her eyes. How did she know that? Oh, right, her Dragon-senses. She could probably already hear whoever was approaching. I briefly wondered why I didn't have that same ability, but blamed the fact that I didn't know until now. I looked at the sky over the forest on the other side of the river. In the distance a little black dot could be seen.

Acnologia hummed a little in agreement and was looking at the approaching dot as well. The dot had come a little closer already, and I could see the wings on either side of it. The before black dot was now red.

And soon enough, a mighty Dragon landed near us. It was very red and with a dark orange belly. As the sun hit the scales, it seemed like the Dragon was on fire. While the span of its wings was wider than Acnologia's - which says something – the flaming red on the outside and the dark orange on the inside, the tail and neck seemed somewhat short for his big size. It had fire-like spikish things trailing down from his head, as a replacement for horns in two parallel lane – if you could call it that, and down to the middle of its neck. The end of its tail was also covered in those flame-spikes, making it seem like it was on fire. His eyes were a dark onyx color. Just like Natsu's… It was much bigger than either of the Dragons I'd seen so far, so let me just say I was terrified, it seemed to be dangerous, and could kill me at any moment.

"**Igneel Kapura, good you could come.**" Grandine said still lying down, and peering at the big Dragon with one eye. Is this big red Dragon really Igneel, Natsu's father? No wonder about all the similarities then. Wait, no. He was just the foster father, not the actual one. It was weird they both had onyx eyes though, weird coincidence. I instantly calmed down at the knowledge of him being Natsu's foster father. I was often told how nice Natsu found the Dragon to be. I got up from Acnologia's foot and stood up in front of it instead.

Igneel looked at Grandine and a wide smile stretched over his face. "**Grandine~! It's such a long time since you called me last, why don't you call me more often?**" Igneel whined childishly. I sweat dropped at the big Dragon, now knowing where Natsu's personality came from. How can such a big and mighty Dragon act so childishly? It was just… Wrong.

Grandine closed her eye again and turned her head away from the red Dragon. "**Because I don't need you.**" She said flatly. That's kinda harsh, Grandine.

Igneel pouted. "**Aww… Grandine~.**" He whined again. I smiled a little at their discussion. When Grandine didn't respond, Igneel turned his head to Acnologia and his smile stretched out again. "**Acnologia! How have you been doing? And what's that on your foot?"** Igneel asked and looked down at me in front of Acnologia's foot, without giving Acnologia time to reply. "**A HUMAN?!**" He yelled and jumped backwards in shock. I smiled my bright smile and waved at the Dragon, he just stared at me with those onyx eyes that reminded me too much of a certain pink haired Dragon Slayer.

Grandine stood up next to Igneel and looked at me with a kind smile. "**Ae (Yes). Igneel meet **_**Ngá Ngaro kotahi (The Lost one)**_** or Lucy Mau'Te Rongo if you will. And Lucy meet Igneel Kapura, Head Dragon of the Fire Clan-"** Grandine smirked. "**or idiot if you will.**" Acnologia chuckled at the last part.

"**I'm not an idiot!**" Igneel said a little loud. I giggled, he was _so_ much like Natsu. Or maybe Natsu was like him. They were like each other.

Grandine smacked his side with her tail. "**Stop behaving so childishly, Igneel. You're a Head Dragon, how many times do I have to tell you?**" Grandine sighed exasperatedly. Weren't she the cause of his childish outburst? Igneel pouted at Grandine and was about to hit her with his tail as well. Grandine sighed again. "**I'd suggest that you don't do that.**" She said without looking at him.

Igneel pouted again, dropping his tail, and then looked at me with a big smile. "**So you're Lucy Mau'Te Rongo? I've been wanting to meet you for a long time.**" He smiled a friendly smile, seemingly calm and collected now, very different from how he acted before. Does he have a split-personality? "**Welcome to the Dragon Realm!**" Aaand his childish side is back.

I giggled and waved at the Dragon. "Hey there Igneel!" I smiled widely. "And thank you, it's been fun the little time I've been here."

Igneel nodded with a wide smile as well and stuck his gigantic face up to mine and sniffed a pair of times. His butt and tail pointing up in the air like a playful dog. I could feel Acnologia tense up. "**What are you doing, Igneel?**" He tried to hide how he felt about the other Dragons snout being up in my face, but failed miserably. He half growled/half said those words. Grandine giggled a little behind Igneel and as I looked up at her, she winked to me with a knowing smile. What's that supposed to mean? What does she know that I don't? She probably knows a lot of things I don't, but about this situation.

Igneel looked into my brown eyes with his onyx ones, then nodded at himself and raised his head to face Acnologia. His face grew a wide grin. "**Oh, Acnologia, I was just getting closer so I could see her better.**" Igneel smiled. Then wiggled his… Eh… Eyebrows? "**You have a problem with that?**" Acnologia remained silent at this and looked towards the forest. Igneel looked at me again. "**Say, Lucy, your scent… It's somehow familiar to me.**" He slowly said, the other, more serious side of himself showing again. Could he catch Natsu's scent? But it had been days since I last was with him, and much less touched him. Then I remembered that the ribbon I had put in my hair yesterday was the one Natsu gave me.

I was about to tell Igneel why it was so familiar when I was cut off. "**Igneel, you don't just ask someone why their **_**scent**_** is familiar to you.**" A deep male-voice said somewhere behind Igneel and Grandine, I couldn't see him since I was practically hid behind all these Dragons. I could see two pairs of white Dragon-feet walking closer to Igneel, who had turned his head to the other Dragon. The white Dragon stepped into my view. He was, well, white obviously. As white as the purest snow, to be more precise. He had long surprisingly long legs, and his neck and tail weren't too short either. His wings were also long, although not so wide and were completely white, they were a little like traditional Dragon wings, but somehow more graceful and elegant. He had black tiger-like stripes over his neck, back and tail. At the end of his tail, it spread out in five icy-blue spikes. Actually they looked like ice, you could see through it, but the picture was twisted. At the point where his wings bended down, there were also an ice-spike and the same at the end of his wings. His claws were jet-black. He had icy-blue eyes and two black horns as well that curved down. He was long and slender and moved with a grace I've never seen before. And to think I would see such grace used by a Dragon. "**And much less to a Lady, whether she's human or not.**" The graceful, white Dragon said. How had he landed so silently? Not even a breeze blew. Not that I would be able to feel it where I was. Although it didn't seem quite as dangerous as Igneel, it was still bigger than Acnologia, and his black claws were extremely intimidating too. His whole icy façade was intimidating. How was I ever going to survive all these Dragons? Might as well find a shovel and begin digging my own grave. Ah, alright, maybe that was overreacting, the Dragons I'd met so far seemed to be really nice actually.

"**Aah, Glanasile Haupa, Head Dragon of the Ice Clan, nice to see you again.**" Grandine said to the newcomer with her kind smile.

The white Dragon looked at Grandine, but didn't smile like she did. "**Te áheitanga katoa (Hello) Grandine, Igneel-**" He nodded and looked at the two Dragons as he mentioned their names. Then he looked at Acnologia with his icy-blue eyes. "**And Acnologia, it's been a long time since I've seen you.**" He glanced briefly down at me. "**This is **_**Ngá Ngaro kotahi (The Lost one)**_**, I presume?**" He looked at Acnologia and nodded to me when I was mentioned. I felt myself become even more afraid as he mentioned me. There was not even a hint of kindness in his words. Or any another emotion for that matter.

Acnologia nodded, with a little smile. "**Ae (Yes), it has indeed been long time Glanasile. And you're right as always, this is **_**Ngá Ngaro kotahi (The Lost one)**_**, Lucy Mau'Te Rongo.**" He said with a little pride lacing his voice. I couldn't help but smile at my childhood friend. However, I felt a little left out of the conversation, if I had to be completely honest. It was a little like when Grandine had first arrived.

Glanasile looked down at me with an expressionless face. He lowered his face a little to get a better look, probably, but not as much as Igneel. Somehow, he did it elegantly – And far from as invasively- I don't know how to explain it, but he just did. "**So you're Layla **_**Heartfilia's**_** daughter?**" He asked, emphasizing 'Heartfilia', but without showing any other hint of emotions in his voice.

I nodded and smiled the best I could at the Dragon. "Y-yes, that's me, L-Lucy Mau'Te Rongo." I smiled at him, while trying to get my heart to beat in a more steady rhythm.

He raised his eyebrows a little. "**Lucy **_**Mau'Te Rongo**_**? Aren't you Lucy **_**Heartfilia**_**?**" He asked slightly shocked, I think. It was hard to tell behind his icy façade.

I smiled at him again, but the smile wasn't quite as big as it was before, with the painful memories pressing on to the front. "I'd rather be called Lucy Mau'Te Rongo than Heartfilia now I know about the man who the name came from. Changing my name, just takes me one step further away from my _Papa_." I said, having regained control over my voice and with disgust filling my voice at my fathers' name.

The white Dragon smiled a little down to me, cracking the icy façade he'd held up through everything. "**I couldn't agree with you more, Lucy.**" He nodded. "**You look a lot like her, actually. Your mother, I mean.**" Glanasile mentioned still with the little smile playing at his lips.

I beamed at the Dragon. He wasn't as scary as I thought he'd be. "Why, thank you Glanasile." I said. I had always wanted to be like my Mama, beautiful, graceful and absolutely _perfect_. So I had taken Glanasile's words as a compliment.

The other Dragons stared at Glanasile in disbelief, their eyes almost popping out of their heads. "**Gla-Glanasile! You were **_**s-smiling**_**!**" Igneel blurted out in front of the Ice Dragon.

A vein bulged out at the white Dragons temple, even though his facial expression didn't show it, he just looked slightly bored. "**Ae (Yes), what of it?**" Glanasile asked in annoyance. I almost giggled at them, they looked so much like – No they don't! You are not going there Brain!

"**Igneel! You ruined the moment! Keep your mouth shut next time.**" Grandine scolded and sighed, but it fell on deaf ears. Igneel was glaring at an expressionless Glanasile, who was just staring at the Fire Dragon. Then Grandine looked at the two and a vein bulged out. "**Would you two **_**stop**_** that?!**" she half yelled.

Flaps of mighty wings were heard and two Dragons had arrived. "**What did we miss?**" An amused male-voice asked.

Again, I couldn't see what was going on. I huffed in annoyance, if only I had my Dragon already. Acnologia noticed my outburst, and moved his head down in my height. "**What's wrong?**" He asked a little lowly, as to not disturb the other Dragons' conversation.

I looked up at Acnologia, then sighed. "Well, it's kinda childish, but I feel like I can't see anything down here." I looked a little around at the forest of legs. "Well, except legs, maybe." I shook my head lightly.

Acnologia chuckled at my hopeless situation and laid down his head on the ground. "**Get on my head, then you'll be able to see what's happening.**" He offered. I looked into his eyes, which was now at my height. I nodded slowly and crawled up on his head and sat down there and he slowly and carefully lifted his head up, while I was trying to keep my balance, holding on to one of the fans near me.

I could see the two dragons that had arrived. One of them was a dark purple color with a dark green belly and two horns that curled around themselves and stuck forward, with the same dark green color. Its wings were quite wide and that dark purple color. Where its wings bend, it seemed to have three long spike-like things that curved and could be used as claws. It had two front fangs peeping out from its lips, making it look like a snake. At the end of its tail, it had a little black spike, curved as the ones of the wing. If you asked me, it looked like it was poisonous, but it was only a guess. Its eyes were very yellow and with a slit like a snakes'. Its claws on its feet were also much longer than the other Dragons'

The other Dragon with the purple one, was a dark gray color, and the light seemed to reflect off its scales, as if it was some kind of metal. It had a jet black belly. It was a big Dragon, rivaling Igneels' size, although its tail and neck were longer. Its wings were much wider than the purple Dragons', on the outside, they were that dark metal-gray color and on the inside a dark, blood-red color. On the gray side of the right wing, there were three long, parallel, horizontal scars, almost going from the top to the bottom, looking an awful lot like three Dragon claws. It had small black spikes going down all the way down its neck, back and tail, at the end of its tail; the spikes were pulled together and formed a crammed ball with spikes shooting out in every direction. Once, it may have had two horns, now one horn was intact, although with a few rips and the other wasn't even half the size it probably used to be. Just to make everything better, its eyes were blood-red and very predatory. From its left eye and down it had a big scar, indicating he'd been in some serious battle – As if the other scars didn't show the exact same thing. I'm going to die, these two are so scary, and - Not nice-looking. They looked like killers! I felt sweat forming at my temples. Why did they have to be so intimidating?! Why _all_ of them?

The gray one was the first to speak. It was looking at Igneel with a smirk. "**Oh I see you're as ugly as always Igneel.**" He told Igneel, who was fuming by himself. "**Te áheitanga katoa (Hello) Grandine Rangi and Glanasile Haupa.**" It then smirked on to the two other Dragons. Seemingly overseeing Acnologia and I completely.

"**Well met Head of the Iron Clan, Metallicana Haeana and Head of the Poison Clan, Sacheba Paihana.**" Glanasile said in an emotionless voice, like before. Grandine nodded and smiled as Glanasile greeted the two Head Dragons. So it was Gajeel's father this time? All three of them had Head Dragons for parents. I'd guess the dark gray one is Metallicana, since it looked like metal the way the sunlight reflected off his scales. The purple one, whom I guessed was Sacheba, also looked more like a Poison Dragon, really. Those front fangs made it quite obvious.

"**Oh, drop the formalitiesss Glanassile, we all know each other around here, don't we?**" The purple Dragon said, drawing out the 's'es and almost hissing like a snake, and rolled its yellow eyes.

The gray one nodded in agreement with the purple. "**I have to agree with Sacheba, it's ridiculous.**" He smiled. So I was right, not that it wasn't obvious, really. Metallicana then noticed Acnologia behind the others. "**Now, what's this? Has our good old comrade come home? And what's that on your head? If it's some kind of new trend, I'm not in it.**" He stated. He hadn't noticed me being a human yet? And he thought I was a hat?! Damn it, so much like Gajeel was in the start. Ugh, am I going to go through _that_ again? It was a pain getting him to open up.

Acnologia pulled me out of my thoughts by answering Metallicana. "**It's nice to see you too Metallicana.**" He replied sarcastically. "**And no, the **_**person**_** you see on my head isn't a new trend. It's Lucy Mau'Te Rongo, or as you would know her **_**Ngá Ngaro kotahi (The Lost one)**_**.**" Acnologia sighed. Metallicana dropped his jaw and Sachebas' eyes were bulging out of their sockets.

I chuckled at the hilarious expressions I got to see on the front seat and waved at the two Dragons. "Hello there, Dragons. It's nice to meet you." I giggled with a wide smile.

"**Now who's the ugly one?**" Igneel snickered at Metallicana. Grandine smacked him with her tail. "**Ow! What was that for?**" He asked the Sky Dragon.

She looked at him a little harshly with her light blue eyes. "**Don't sink to his level, idiot.**" She scolded him. He pouted at her.

Metallicana and Sacheba still hadn't stopped looking hilarious. Glanasile sighed and reached out for Metallicanas' jaw with his wing and pushed it up. "**Metallicana close your mouth and Sacheba pull your eyes into their sockets again.**" He told them monotonously, a little like how Virgo would, but with much more authority. They both reacted to his words. Sacheba shook his head and Metallicana held up his jaw himself. How did the little discovery of me become such a big shock for them? Igneel snickered at the two Dragons again.

There was silence between all the Dragons; they were all waiting for one of the newcomers to say something. Sacheba was the one to pick up. "**Ssso you finally found her after ssseven yearss, huh Acnologia?**" He asked Acnologia, to break the silence.

Acnologia nodded slightly, not enough to make me lose my balance completely, but just enough to have me rocking a little. "**Yeah. It was about time too.**" He said with a smile hinting his voice. I smiled down at the head I was sitting on. He'd been looking for me all those years, and all I'd done was forgetting him. Wow, what a friend I am.

Sachebas' lips curved up a little and he nodded. "**How did you find her anyway?**" Metallicana asked a little rudely next to Sacheba. He was looking at me with his blood-red eyes. I gulped slowly at his intense stare. The other Dragons also turned to look at us, which made me sweat in nervousness.

By the looks of Metallicana I could see he wanted me to answer. I sighed. "I just appeared right outside his den. The extension of the story will come when everyone's here." I said, I didn't need or want to tell that story more times than what was necessary.

They took their time reading my expression before nodding. I sighed in my mind I n relief, at least they didn't push it out of me.

"**Okay, so who are we waiting for?**" Glanasile asked, mostly directed at Grandine.

"**Hmm… There's Silvia, Skyadrum, Weisslogia-.**" She spoke out loud and paused, looking around at the Dragons who were already there. "**Amelane, Simakan and Dravola.**" She counted them in her head. "**Yep, that's the ones.**" She nodded.

"**Oh, those slowpokes! Why can't they be faster?**" Igneel exclaimed. Surprisingly he had remained somewhat silent through a big part of this. To say the truth, I was amazed. If he was anything _near_ Natsu, which I had gathered he was, then this was quite an accomplishment.

"**I see you haven't changed the least since last, Igneel. You're still as hot-headed as you've always been.**" An a little worn-out female voice said somewhere behind Acnologia and I. Acnologia turned to look at the owner of the voice. What's with these Dragons and appearing out of nowhere? There were two Dragons again. A brown and a blue. This time, I didn't become scared at the sight of them. Maybe I'd gotten used to the fact that Dragons were appearing all over the place?

The brown color of the brown Dragons looked a little like the color of dry soil. It had a grass-green belly and it seemed like grass was growing on its back and all the way down to its tail. Its wings also seemed to be some kind of grass braided together somehow. It had that grass growing around the back of its head instead of horns. Its brown eyes seemed to hold a great wisdom and experience behind them. It seemed to be a little lower than all the other Dragons.

The other one had royal blue scales covering its entire body. It had something resembling fins a little going down its neck and down to the end of its tail, in a light blue color. Its wings like how a kid would draw a Dragon, with four 'fingers', as you could maybe or maybe not call them, connected at the top, where the wing bend, between these 'fingers', there were the same fins as on its back. The 'fingers' and the part connected with its back were royal blue, like the rest of the Dragon, and the fins were light blue. Between its claws, there were this kind of web, probably so the Dragon could swim faster, and in a deep green color. Its eyes were a dark purple. When it moved, water seemed to drip down its scales and made them reflect the sun a little like the river.

I guessed the royal blue Dragon was the Head of the Water Clan and the brown one the Head of the Earth Clan, judging by their appearances.

Grandine took a few steps up to the Dragons. "**Dravola! Amelane! It's nice to see you again.**" She smiled kindly.

The blue Dragon smiled at her and nodded. "**Ae (Yes), it's nice to see you too Grandine.**" It said with a female voice, not the worn-out one from before. The brown one just nodded in agreement.

Metallicana interrupted the conversation between the three female Dragons. "**Oi, Acnologia. Get over here, I wanna see the human.**" Metallicana rudely said. I sweat dropped at its similar behavior to Gajeel.

Acnologia sighed. "**You can come over here, you old geezer.**" He replied.

Metallicana's right eye twitched. "**What did'cha say, brat?**" He asked menacingly.

I felt Acnologia open his mouth to reply, but was cut off by the brown Dragon. "**What is a human doing here in the Dragon Realm?**" She asked with her old voice that seemed to hold infinite wisdom. Acnologia turned his head to the Dragon. Its eyes landed on me and shone with recognition. "**Is this **_**Ngá Ngaro kotahi (The Lost one)**_**?**" She slowly asked. Grandine nodded and the blue Dragons eyes widened ever so slightly. "**Boy, get your head over here so I can get a better look at her.**" She said, not unkindly, just demanding. Acnologia did as he was told, and took a few steps so he was standing in front of the two newcomers. He lowered his head a little so they could get a better look at me. I stared directly into the eyes of the brown Dragon. She seemed to look me over, and finding what she looked for, she nodded. "**Ae (Yes), this is Layla's child, that's for sure.**" She said with a low voice.

I looked at the royal blue Dragon, who seemed to be about to burst into tears. I smiled gently at her. "Hi ladies. I'm Lucy Mau'Te Rongo; it's a pleasure to meet you." I greeted the two of them.

At first they looked shocked I could talk, which made me sweat drop inwardly, but I ignored it and kept smiling. The brown Dragon was the first to say something. "**Te áheitanga katoa (Hello) Lucy Mau'Te Rongo, I'm Dravola Oene, Head Dragon of the Earth Clan.**" The Dragon said plainly, with her old voice.

"**I'm Amelane Wai, Head Dragon of the Water Clan. It's good to finally have you with us.**" Amelane said with her beautiful voice and bowed her head slightly in a greeting manner.

"It's nice to be here, it's very beautiful." I said, continuing my smile.

Amelane sniffed. "**You look so much like her.**" She whispered, I was barely able to hear what she said.

I tilted my head slightly and looked at her with furrowed eyebrows. Who did I look like? "Who?" I asked not so intelligently.

Amelane looked at me with her purple eyes. "**You look like your mother.**" She said. The same as Glanasile had told me.

I beamed at the Dragon. "Thank you very much." I was cut off as a loud crackling sound of lightning appeared at our right. I turned my head to see what was happening and I saw a big yellow Dragon. It was as yellow as the lightning it had appeared with, and had a jet black belly. Its wings were special – to say the least. The part where the wing connected with the back, looked like a big lightning, similar to the scar Laxus had at his one eye, except much bigger. From the top of the lightning, it went down in a wide curve. From the end of that curve and to the point which popped out on the lightning-looking part of the wing, there were this kind of black skin, which also went from that point of the lightning and down to somewhere on the middle of the back. The wing weren't particularly long or wide, but they seemed like they could fly extremely fast. At the point on its wings, where the lightning connected with the wide curve, there were three small white claws. Its two horn, much like the wing, looked like lightning. Its eyes were a dark yellow color. So this guy could transport like Laxus with his Lightning? That's pretty cool, actually. It's quite obvious he's the Head Dragon of the Lightning Clan, judging by the way he arrived here.

The yellow Dragon looked at all the Dragons and frowned. "**What's all the commotion?**" He asked looking a little baffled with all the people around.

Acnologia raised his head slowly, making sure I didn't fall off while doing so. "**Well Simakan Uira, she's right here on my head.**" Acnologia told him.

Simakan looked directly at me and took a few steps forward, to join the big collection of Dragons. "**Is that a human? Then-**" He didn't get to continue when Metallicana cut him off.

"**Yeah, that's none other than **_**Ngá Ngaro kotahi (The Lost one).**_" He smirked, then he glared at Acnologia. "**And I haven't even gotten a good look at her yet, you possessive brat.**" He scowled, but I noticed the amusement in his eyes.

I felt a vein bulge out under my foot. "**You old…**" He trailed off shot his head up a little too quickly. "**I'm not possessive!**" He yelled while I was losing my balance. I felt myself slowly falling off my friends' enormous head. Shit, way to impress new Dragons. Fall off yours friends head and break your legs. Way to go Lucy. I thought as I slipped on his scales and slid down his… Eh, cheek I guess. At the edge of my vision, I saw that the other Dragons weren't really paying any attention to me, and just stared at the discussion between the two dark Dragons.

I had just barely become airborne, when a white wing caught me. I landed on my butt on the soft, but cold wing. "**We can't have you die Lucy, it'd be a disaster.**" My savior said. I looked at the Dragon who had caught me with widened eyes, it was Glanasile. He looked at me with his icy-blue eyes, making sure I was okay, I believe. When he was sure I was fine, he looked at Acnologia with a hard stare. "**Acnologia, I advise you to look out for your mate here more carefully.**" Glanasile scolded the Chaos Dragon with his cold expression. I looked around a little and saw the Dragons finally noticed me on Glanasile's wing.

Acnologia, who was still bickering with Metallicana, turned his head to Glanasile and was about to retort, when he saw me on the Ice Dragons' wing. He widened his eyes and looked alternately between Glanasile and me. "**Wha- Why are you..? What?**" Acnologia asked confused.

I scratched the back of my head and smiled apologetically at Acnologia. "Well, I kinda slipped when you shot your head up and glared at Metallicana. Glanasile caught me before anything happened, luckily." I said nervously.

Acnologia opened his mouth as if to say something, but closed it again. He looked at the ground and then spoke. "**I-I'm sorry, Lucy.**" He muttered under his breath.

I gulped slowly, nervous with all the attention I had attracted. "Eh.. It's fine Acnologia, nothing happened." I smiled a nervous but reassuring smile.

Someone cleared their throat somewhere behind Acnologia. I looked at the brown Dragon. "**I believe this proves that Lucy should stand on her own.**" Dravola said and looked around at the Dragons with a look that said 'Don't you dare go against my word.'. I sweat dropped a little at the similarity between her and Porlyusica.

The other Dragons quickly nodded under her gaze and Glanasile put me down on the ground again carefully, so I could feel little again. Glanasile's right lip curved slightly up. "**Now he does it again!**" Igneel gasped somewhere to my right. I could see Glanasile's vein bulging out. The white Dragon slowly turned his head to the Fire Dragon and glared icily at him. Igneel cowered a little under the intense glare of the Ice Dragon. "**Right, right. It's no big deal.**" He said with sweat trailing down his head. Glanasile nodded approvingly at Igneel's surrender and turned away from him. I giggled at the two and shook my head lightly.

"**Oi, human. Get over here.**" Metallicana said somewhere behind me. I looked back and saw Metallicana standing next to Sacheba a little away. I waved up at Glanasile, who nodded in reply, and went over to the Iron Dragon. Up close I could see all the scars he had achieved in various battles, breaking up the pattern of his scales. Looking up at him from down here, he seemed extremely intimidating, more so than before. They all did. I felt so little and defenseless down here. Metallicana stuck his head down so it hovered just over me. "**Well aren't you a little squirt?**" He asked not so kindly with an amused glint in his blood-red eyes. He concealed trying to sniff out my scent as he moved his head up again, making a face of recognition in a flash, but I'd caught it.

Well, at least he _tries_ to conceal it, unlike Igneel. I sweat dropped and sighed at him. "Well, I guess I am compared to you, you overgrown lizard." I smiled at him. Metallicanas' eye twitched in annoyance.

"**Ohh, good one girl, I like your ssspirit!**" Sacheba smirked. "**High five.**" He held up his purple foot for a high five. It looked a little funny, but I high fived him with my tiny hand anyway. Didn't he realize that same insult went for him too? We laughed at Metallicanas' scowl. Metallicana grumbled something under his breath, but then smirked and winked at me, past my little insult.

I saw Simakan walk over to the three of us to join in on the conversation. Now I listened, I noticed the other Dragons also had formed small groups and talked together while waiting for the last Dragons. The yellow Lightning Dragon stood next to Sacheba and looked down at me with his dark yellow eyes. "**So you're Acnologia's childhood friend I've heard so much about. I'm Simakan Uira, Head of the Lightning Clan. What's your name?**" He asked with his deep voice. Metallicana and Sacheba eyed the Lightning Dragon.

I smiled at the Dragon. It was so weird that everyone just knew who I was, but didn't know my name. "Yeah, I'm Acnologia's friend Lucy Mau'Te Rongo." I confirmed. "It's something of a greeting I get, all the Head Dragons meeting up to hear my story." I slowly said. It really was overwhelming, all these big Dragons meeting up just to hear my rather pathetic story and then decide what they should do with me.

He smiled down at me. "**Ae (Yes), well we've been waiting for your return in seven years I believe it is now. Of course all the Head Dragons would meet up.**" He looked at me, his smile faltering a bit. "**And since you're not in your Dragon form, I gather that you haven't awakened that part of you yet, have you?**" He asked kindly. I was a bit confused with all those words they said, 'Ae', 'Ngá Ngaro kotahi' and all those, but I could somehow guess my way through it all. It was like figuring Freeds' runes out with Levy during the Fantasia event.

I nodded. "Yeah, I just found out about the Dragons yesterday, I've lived my whole life among humans and believed I was one of them." I scratched the back of my head nervously. "So when I found out my Mama was a Dragon and that I have one too, is a little shocking to be honest."

Sacheba frowned. "**I think that'sss the undersstatement of the year.**" He said. "**You musst be more than ssshocked to find out about the Dragon Realm, the exisstence of Dragonsss, that you have a Dragon insside you lying dormant and everything elsse.**" He hissed slowly and looked at me with pitying eyes, which I didn't know exactly how to feel about.

Yeah well, it gets worse you guys… "Yeah I guess I am." I admitted.

"**You know what, Squirt? Just ask good old Metallicana if anyone's bugging you, I'll eat the daylights out of them.**" Metallicana stated. I sweat dropped at his words.

"Ehh, don't you mean 'beat' the daylights out of them?" I asked the 'good old Metallicana'.

The Iron Dragon smirked at me. "**Nope, I mean 'eat'.**" I didn't know quite how to react to the Dragons' words, if I should be happy that he'd help me or fear the lives of whoever would 'bug' me.

I didn't get to reply anyway, when the last three Dragons appeared with Basuril. A black, an armored white and a silver. "**Metallicana would you stop being so vulgar?**" The black Dragon asked in a firm female voice, much like Erza's actually. I slapped myself mentally, why did I always have to draw in Fairy Tail?

The Dragon which spoke was as black as the darkest Shadows and had a purple belly. It had a longer tail than any of the others, much longer, which made it look more elegant and beautiful. Its wings were longer than many of the others, and completely black. At the end of them, they were ripped and there were small holes here and there, although not big enough to disturb her flight. Ivory-white crooked spikes trailed down its neck and down to its tail. It had two purple horns, which curved upwards in the ends and were somewhat long. Its eyes were a darker shade of ivory-white, but not turning gray. It looked vicious and elegant at the same time.

One of the other Dragons seemed to be a male. He wore a golden armor over his head and down the back of his neck, back and tail. The armor was parted in many smaller plates, to give the Dragon free movement behind it all. His horns were also covered by that armor of his, they were thick and short and curved down slightly. His wings and legs were free of the armor, and so was the part under his armor which pointed to the ground, which revealed that he was a white Dragon with a sand colored belly. His wings were the traditional Dragon wings and completely white. His eyes were a peculiar, bright cyan color.

The last one was silver. It didn't reflect the sun's rays like Metallicana's scales, it seemed to be all the color of the rainbows, but at the same time a dim silver color. It had a black belly and its wings were also completely black, thin and long. It had two light gray horns which stuck out of the back of its head and curled down. All the way down its neck and to the end of its tail and around it, there was something that looked like fur it was that light gray color, like the horns. Its eyes were a peculiar mix between red and brown. It was a beautiful Dragon, almost at Grandines' level, but not quite.

Basuril stood a little behind them with his wings hanging loosely from his back and landed on the ground as he panted heavily. He had gathered all these Dragons on such short notice and so fast, so I guess it is obvious he'd be exhausted.

All the Head Dragons fell silent and focused on the three Dragons. Sacheba turned around to look at the last three Dragons. Metallicana turned his head to the newcomers and shrugged at the black Dragons words. "**Well, I **_**did**_** mean it.**" He glanced briefly at me before looking at the three Dragons again. "**Welcome to the party, Skyadrum Atarangi, Head of the Shadow Clan,-**" He looked at the black Dragon and then turned his gaze to the white armored one. "**Weisslogia Marama, Head of the Light Clan-**" At last he looked at the silver Dragon. "**And Silvia Mau'Te Rongo, Head of the Peace Clan.**" All with a smirk. So the silver one was my aunt, Silvia? She's so beautiful, I wondered if Mama was as beautiful as she was.

Weisslogia looked at Metallicana and shook his head lightly. "**What's with the long introductions Metallicana? It's not like you.**" Weisslogia asked the Iron Dragon.

Metallicana sighed. "**I know, I've always hated long introductions, and I still do by the way, but we have a little guest who doesn't know your names. So I just helped by pointing it out like that.**" He said. I was hidden behind Metallicana and Sacheba's legs, and the three Dragons probably didn't think to look at the ground, so they'd probably not noticed me yet.

I felt something push my back gently and as I turned around I saw Simakan's face. He nudged me closer to the three Dragons with his snout and nodded, indicating I should go forward. I sighed and began walking forward slowly through the forest of Dragon legs.

Silvia turned her attention to the Iron Dragon. "**What guest? Was that why we were sent out here?**" She asked with an annoyed tone. Well, she sure is cranky today. I walked past Sachebas' tail and was careful with not touching the sharp spike at the end. As I passed his hind leg, he looked back at me and smiled reassuringly, even though it seemed more intimidating than reassuring with those two fangs. I smiled back and walked past his front legs and stood in the light for the three Dragons to see.

Silvia was the first to react to my appearance, her eyes widened a lot. Then Weisslogia's jaw fell down a little and he stared at me with eyes of recognition. Skyadrum didn't seem to react at first, but then a tear fell down her right eye. "Hi you three. I'm Lucy Mau'Te Rongo." I smiled and waved at them.

Silvia made a stone-face while the other two widened their eyes even more. "**I-it really is you.**" Skyadrum whispered and took a step forward staring at me with tears running down her face. "**Layla's daughter.**" She said more softly than I'd thought possible. She took another step closer, and another, and another. Now she was standing right in front of me. I felt myself flinch at her sudden closeness. She slowly brought her head down, and everyone seemed to hold their breath. She stopped just above my head and looked down at me. I really had to pull myself together to not run away. "**I-it's true then. S-she had a daughter.**" The Dragon whispered. A dark Shadow enveloped her and instead of the big Dragon stood a beautiful woman with long curly black hair reaching mid-thigh and a lavender dress that sat tight to her curvaceous body. She had pale beautiful skin and her ivory-white eyes stared right into mine and then I didn't get to see more as she ran forward and pulled me into a hug. I was too stunned to do anything for a second, but then slowly put my arms around Skyadrum while sending Sacheba a glance, asking what was happening.

He sighed and looked down at me. "**SSSkyadrum wasss one of your mothersss good friendsss, along with Amelane. They were alwaysss together and were practically insseparable.**" He explained. I made an 'o' with my mouth and nodding understandingly. So that was why Amelane looked like she was about to burst into tears when she saw me.

Skyadrum slowly pulled away and cupped my cheeks with her hands. She looked straight into my brown eyes with her ivory ones. A tear slipped from one of her eyes. "**It's wonderful to have you back my dear.**" She said and smiled gently at me. I nodded with a smile in return.

"**Alright, that's enough of this reunion! I wanna know her story!**" An unmistakable voice said somewhere a little off. A smack was heard and the Dragon yelped in pain. "**Ow! Grandine~ Why did you do that?**"

Grandine sighed and shook her head. "**Because you ruined the moment again, idiot.**" She said flatly. Igneel pouted but said nothing. Grandine turned her gaze to me. "**However he's right for once. Now everyone's gathered let us hear your story.**" Grandine smiled at me with her kind smile.

Skyadrum was enveloped in shadows again, and she was back to being the elegant black Dragon. Right in front of me. I took a step back, feeling overwhelmed with her size. I turned to Grandine and nodded. "Right. It all started less than a year ago when I escaped my _Papa_-"

**So.. Much... **_**Lucy!**_** Yeah, well there was a lot of Lucy's P.O.V in this one, but I felt it was quite necessary, as it wouldn't be the same if it was in Acnologia's P.O.V, since he knows these guys already. I know this chapter probably was a little boring, I'm so, so, so, so, SO sorry! Please forgive me! And DAMN wasn't this a long chapter? I know this isn't one of my best, I'm all too aware of that actually, but I hope it's okay, guys. I felt something was missing somehow… I just don't know what. Which pisses me off a great deal. **

**TRANSLATIONS… Yay. .-. It's a long one this time. **

**Igneel and Chylirobi's last name 'Kapura' means 'Fire'. Glanasile's last name 'Haupa' (Originally Haupapa, but again, repeating 'pa' two times, just seemed a little much. So I cut one off ^_^ no offense to the Maori language by the way) means 'Ice'. Metallicana's last name 'Haeana' means 'Iron' and Sacheba's last name 'Paihana' means 'Poison'. Dravola's last name 'Oene' (Originally Oneone, but then it sounded like just plain 'one', as in the number, being repeated, so I modified it a little) means 'Earth' and Amelane's last name 'Wai' means 'Water'. Simakan's last name 'Uira' means 'Lightning'. Weisslogia's last name 'Marama' means 'Light' and Skyadrum's last name 'Atarangi' means 'Shadow'… That will be about it for now. I bet you can't guess in which language! I know you guys probably had it all figured it out after the first three or something around there, but I wrote these anyway to be sure everyone understands. I really mean no offense to the Maori language, actually I find it quite exciting because it is so different from the ones I know; English (Obviously?), a little German and Danish. I only changed those few words so they would fit with the story. FORGIVE ME?!**

**Oh, and what do you think of the names I've made for the Dragons so far? Are they good, horrible, weird, hilarious… Anything? I personally really like the name 'Chylirobi', but that may just be me being weird as always. :P And could you, maybe, tell me if the descriptions were okay? I want to know if I could describe the guys well enough, if you find something I could do better, don't hesitate to tell me!**

**Thank you Howk, Daddys little crazy bitch, Nightingaledric666, BlankyTheRockDorkinsnob, kotono3, onyx Roxanne, Dyeni, Beachlover470, MThyrlow, ApollosHaikus11, Guest, natsuxlucyrulez, Naeda Beasley, Sakurawallflower, Kurosaki Yukia, Swagitayolo, ichirainbowlove, Mai96, Howl for the rising moon, llulluca, BecauseIamSoBored, Yang Yami, Celestial-Dragon777, giannapaulisda1, 7Annabelle43 and all you other readers for everything!**

**~ Line464d**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

**So I'm back again! Lovely vacation, a little more lively than the last one, but that's to expected when you have three lil' bros with you. Who love to tease you and the other way around.**

**When I came home, my mail was bombarded. Flat out. I think, I'm not entirely sure since my mobile app for mails didn't keep the early ones, that there were over 50 mails waiting for me. All from FanFiction. I was overjoyed, honestly. You are amazing and I won't stop telling you until you all understand. ^_^**

**Anyway, I've been itching to get this chapter out, sorry for the very unsteady start we've had with all this, but I should be able to upload on time now. I'll upload a chapter every Monday, from now on. I've decided. I might have said otherwise, but it'll be Monday from now on. So there'll be another chapter in just about 4 days too. If my math serves me right. Probably doesn't,**

**I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made! R&R!**

**Disclaimer: Slowpoke has still not agreed to share Fairy Tail with me. But this Fanfiction is mine and mine alone! MUAHAHAHA**

**Okay never mind that, honestly, I just have my crazy moments. .-.**

**At the guild Fairy Tail**

**Natsus' P.O.V**

"Let's take this request!" I yelled at Erza with Happy sitting on my shoulder. Team Natsu had decided to go on the first mission as the new Team Natsu today, like a welcoming party for Lisanna. Of sorts anyway. Erza had let me pick our mission. I pulled the request I had picked down from the request board and ran over to Erza to have her confirm it. We were going to a town called Saraj, apparently there was a big monster in some creepy forest just outside the town. The only thing we had to do was to destroy it. And we would even get 200.000 Jewels! Luce would have loved to take this job. Oh yeah, she was on a mission wasn't she?

I focused my attention on the scarlet-haired Requip Mage. I handed the request to her and she quickly scanned it. She nodded and looked at me. "This is a fine mission. We're going on this one." She turned to look at Ice Princess and Lisanna who were talking at a table. "GRAY, LISANNA." She said loudly, gaining the whole guilds' attention. Ice Princess and Lisanna seemed terrified under the red-heads stare. "I've found a mission. Go and pack your stuff, we'll be away in some days, maybe even a week if we're unlucky." She ordered firmly. The two ran off, probably to start packing stuff. And what did she mean that _she_ had found a mission? I was the one who picked it!

I was about to tell her exactly that, when I noticed her glare. "What are you still here for?" She asked. "Go pack your stuff!"

"Aye sir!" Happy and I yelled in unison and hurried home to pack our things.

**Timeskip ~ An hour later outside the guild Fairy Tail**

**Erzas' P.O.V**

"Where is Flame Brain?" Gray asked with an annoyed voice. We'd been waiting for Natsu in twenty minutes straight. The rest of us were already ready to go. "We've already waited in an hour for that moron." He complained and tapped his foot with crossed arms and a scowl on his face.

I sighed. Why did he have to exaggerate so much? "Be quiet and wait." I ordered, but behind it all, I really wanted to say the same as him. Where were Natsu? Lisanna glanced back at my bunk of things.

She looked up at me innocently. "Is it really necessary to have all that with us, Erza?" She asked.

I looked down on her with a soft smile. "Yeah, you'll never know when you might need it." I replied.

She sweat dropped. "Right." She stared at the flower pot on one of my bags.

I heard someone running and glanced to my right to see Natsu running our way. "What took you so long Fire Breath?" Gray insulted Natsu.

Natsu smirked at Gray. "Oh, I'm sorry. I can't help that I have more things than you do Ice Cream." Natsu gestured to his backpack, which was bigger than Gray's.

Gray's eye twitched, he butted his head against Natsu's. "What did you say, Slit Eye?" He growled. "You want a go at it?"

Natsu smirked again. "I'm all fired up, Droopy Eye!" Natsu said. So they're at it again.

I decided it was about time I'd intervene before things got too out of hand. "You aren't fighting, are you?" I asked with a threatening tone.

The two boys' heads snapped up and looked at me with frightened eyes. They threw an arm around each other as if they were best buddies and smiled nervously. "A-aye sir! We're the best friends in the whole world!" They said simultaneously. Their facial expression was always so hilarious.

I nodded in approval. "That's good." I began to walk off to the train station. "We're going now." I said firmly. I heard a shuffle of footsteps behind me and soon three teenagers and a cat were following me.

After some time of walking, while chatting about irrelevant things, we reached the train station. There were quite a lot of people today, but it was also just about the time in the morning where many took the train.

Natsu began sweating bullets, looking at the train. He was beginning to pale. "C-can't we just walk?" He whimpered, his skin getting a faint tint of green.

I looked back at him with a firm stare. "Of course we can't. The tour in train almost takes nine hours." I stated, while watching as Natsu's face turned green.

"Oh don't be such a wimp, Flame Brain." Gray smirked next to Natsu. Natsu glared at him and they began bickering again, throwing lame insults at each other. I went over to buy tickets, but could still hear them where I stood in queue.

"I'm not going on that train, Popsicle." Natsu stated, determination shining in his eyes.

"I don't care, Slit Eye." Gray shrugged carelessly.

"Droopy Eye." Natsu retorted.

"Overgrown Lizard." Gray tossed away his shirt, as he focused on their 'discussion'.

"Exhibitionist, get your shirt on, people are staring at you." Natsu smirked, while Lisanna giggled next to him.

"Yeah, 'cuz I look good, contradictory to others, Fire Butt." Gray said calmly, sending a meaningful glance at Natsu. Then he turned around too look for his shirt, muttering something about how that could happen. I sighed at their stupidity, why had I chosen them as team mates? I couldn't remember, it was all so long ago, and Lucy was on the team then too.

"You wish, Ice Princess." Natsu growled, but then caught my glare and silenced immediately.

I moved forward in the queue, and when I stood before the young man in the ticket booth, I asked for four train tickets and went back to my team when I'd gotten them.

"Erza can't I just walk?" Natsu complained.

I glared at him. Why does he always have to be like this? "No, you cannot. Now get on the train." I demanded. We quickly weaved around all the people and found an empty booth. Natsu and Lisanna sat opposite of Gray and I.

Soon the train began to move, and Natsu looked like he could barf at any moment. "Let me off... Ugh. I can't take more of this." Natsu complained, while quickly covering his mouth and blowing his cheeks up, as if about to barf. "Urgh. If only Luce was here, then I could feel better." Natsu said. I didn't quite understand how Lucy could make him feel better, but then I remembered. Lucy would usually let Natsu rest his head in her lap, while playing a little with his hair. It always seemed to make him feel better, for some reason.

Lisanna leaned a little forward. "What did Lucy do that could make you feel better?" Lisanna asked. Was that a hint of anger I heard in her words? Nah, it couldn't have been. What would Lisanna have to be angry about?

Natsu looked weakly up at the white-haired Take Over mage. "She'd usually let me rest my head in her lap, and brush her fingers through my hair.. Urgh." Natsu muttered, barely able to say the words.

Lisanna furrowed her brows in annoyance, but quickly changed to a happy smile. "Well, you can rest your head in my lap, maybe it'll help!" She suggested. Natsu nodded, looking at the floor. He slowly, looking like an old man, turned in his seat and placed his head in Lisanna's lap. Gray snickered a little. Lisanna began playing with his hair, a soft smile on her lips. "Are you feeling better?" She asked sweetly.

Natsu took a moment to answer. "No." He stated plainly. "I feel like barfing!" He whined.

I knocked him out, tired of hearing him complaining. "That was much better." I told the other two, who sweat dropped. Okay, only 8 hours and 50 minutes to go. I watched as the other two began starting an conversation. I felt the energy slowly seeping out of me, and gradually I fell asleep.

**On the field Dragon Realm**

**Acnologias' P.O.V**

Lucy told them everything, basically. Tears were running down her face when she'd finished talking. It was still a very sore topic for her, I could easily see that. Well, everyone could. She told them the same she had told me yesterday, not pausing to give them a chance to ask questions, before she was done speaking. I still remembered the story from yesterday, and now with her tears running down her face, I wanted nothing more than to wipe them away and cheer her up somehow. But that would be quite difficult in my Dragon form.

We were all sitting or lying on the ground in something you could imagine was a circle with a little bit of willpower put into it. Basuril had fallen asleep after all the exercise he'd gotten, leaning into me like a little brother would. I was lying right next to Lucy, who was looking at the ground, not prepared to meet anyone's eyes.

Many of the Dragons were looking at my blonde friend with pity in their eyes. Even though they probably didn't understand much of what she was talking about, just like me, we all knew that these persons were someone close to her. And they'd thrown her away as if she was some kind of trash.

Grandine, who was lying right next to us, enveloped herself in a whirlwind, disappearing from sight in a second, and reappearing in her Human form. She had long, straight, light blue hair, same color as her scales, in a middle-high ponytail with a pair of braid on the sides, which rounded up the rest of her hair like a kind of hair band. It went down to her waist. She wore the usual white summer dress, which was form-fitting in the top and was let loose in layers of white and sky blue fabric from her hip and down to just below her knees. Small spaghetti straps kept the dress in place.

She walked over to my friend and hugged her, patting her back and muttering reassuring words to her. But otherwise no one said anything, giving the little girl time to get hold of herself again.

Igneel was the first to comment. "**So wait, wait, wait.**" He said, getting everyone's attention. "**This boy, Natsu Dragneel-**" Lucy looked at him over Grandines' shoulder and nodded. "**He is by no chance my son, is he?**" He asked with hopeful eyes. Igneel was the most dense person I'd ever met. Once, when he took care of his son and was teaching him Fire Dragon Slayer magic, he'd attended a meeting with the other Head Dragons with the boy on his back. Luckily, the boy was sleeping, and Igneel could get him back to where he trained the youngster without problems, but still… _he forgot his own son!_ Igneel was the most reckless of all the Dragons here, but he was an excellent fighter. And very destructive too. Igneel had this 'business-mode' he used whenever things got serious, he would be concentrating on whatever he was supposed to do or say. It was a lovely mode where he dropped his childish antics.

Lucy nodded slowly, apologizing with her eyes. "Yes, he is _that_ Natsu Dragneel, Fire Dragon Slayer and your son." She looked at the ground. What? He was Igneel's son? Why didn't she tell me? "I'm sorry Igneel." She muttered, but everyone heard her with our Dragon senses. I hoped she'd get over this whole thing soon, I couldn't stand watching her like this.

Lucys' tears had stopped falling and she was just sniffling, so Grandine pulled back, with a last reassuring look to the girl, and reclaimed her place on the ground.

Igneel looked at her with sad eyes. "**I see…**" He muttered. "**But it is in no way your fault, Lucy. It is mine for not raising him well enough.**" He said with shame in his voice. Oh, no. This was not what she was aiming for, I'm certain about that.

She shook her head rapidly at the Dragons' statement. "No, no, no. Igneel, it's not your fault. I don't think he's aware of what he did, he's too dense, I'm afraid." She muttered the last part.

Metallicana smirked next to Sacheba, where he sat. "**Then he's just like his father. Doesn't surprise me really.**" He snickered. Metallicana had always been a little arrogant and harsh with his words. He could be a bastard sometimes and extremely annoying, but whenever something serious was going on, he'd be less of an asshole. Until a fight broke out, then he'd become just as reckless as the Fire Dragon. Whether the two liked it or not, they looked like each other on a battlefield. That Dragon had always harassed me one way or another, he enjoyed harassing me, and it was still unknown to me why.

Sacheba snorted at his friends' accusation. "**Ssso true.**" He agreed amusedly. Sacheba was a little younger than Metallicana and had always looked up to him, even as a boy. He would stick with Metallicana no matter what happened, and the two of them were very good friends now. I think the adoration Sacheba held for the Iron Dragon when he was younger had faded some since then, but it was still there. Sacheba wasn't as reckless as Metallicana and Igneel on a battlefield, however whenever he struck someone, it was the end of the line for whoever got hit.

Igneel glared at the two. "**I'm not dense!**" He said childishly. He looked around at the other Dragons for assistance, but most of them just nodded in agreement with Sacheba and Metallicana, even Basuril in his sleep, me being one of them. Igneel pouted and looked away from the Dragons and back at Lucy. "**I feel like I'm responsible for his actions though.**" He told her without the childish attitude; she was just about to reply when he cut her off. "**But even then, I'm still his father. So how is he doing?**" He asked concerned with his son.

She smiled gently at the big Dragon. "He's doing great, last I saw him. As I said, Lisanna, who was his best friend two years ago, has returned from the dead, and he's been really happy since then." She told him. He nodded and smiled a kind smile down to her. She looked alternately at Grandine and Metallicana. "I forgot to mention that I've met your children as well, Wendy Marvell and Gajeel Redfox." She smiled at the two. They looked at her with surprised expressions, along with all us other Dragons. Tell me, how many other secrets was she hiding?

Metallicana's face broke into a wide grin. "**So you've met my brat?**" He asked with an amused voice. She nodded at the big Iron Dragon. "**How is he?**" He asked, trying not to show his affection towards his son, but failing.

Her smile grew a little. "He's much like you actually." Lucy said. Metallicana raised an eyebrow at her urging her to continue. "Well, he's arrogant, an idiot sometimes, annoying, and much else –" I almost laughed at her words, Igneel laughed on the other side childishly. Well, he got over that pretty quickly. "But when I got to know him, he was really a nice guy." Lucy smiled. I looked down at the blonde girl. If this Gajeel guy really was nice, then he was nothing like Metallicana, that Dragon was rotten to the core. In my eyes anyway.

Metallicana nodded in agreement, and was about to say something when Grandine cut him off. "**So, how is my little, sweet Wendy?**" She asked, ignoring Metallicana completely. Metallicana, knowing he wouldn't win against Grandine, rolled his eyes and gave up on saying whatever he was about to say. Yes, Grandine was indeed a force to be reckoned with. She'd always been this firm and demanding, but she was also kind and gentle at the same time. She was the best healer we had around here and she could fight well too. She'd been especially kind to me since my father was caught by the Magic Council and sent to Crocus, she helped me through the everyday tasks as a Head Dragon and helped me pick a second in command, or SIC, as we call them.

Lucy smiled at the Sky Dragon. "She's still the sweet, little Wendy she's always been." She reassured the Dragon. Grandine smiled kindly down at her and smiled appreciatively.

There ruled a silence over the group as they all waited for someone to say something. Dravola was the one to break the silence. "**This story of yours is very touching, but I feel there's something else hidden behind it.**" Dravola mentioned with her hoarse voice. Dravola was the oldest of all the Head Dragons and the most wise. She had a sharp mind and mighty attacks. She was always the one to plan things whenever there was serious trouble. She didn't express many emotions though, she'd always been quite expressionless as far as I can remember, and she could be firm and harsh with her words sometimes, but she never intended to mean harm in any way.

I was the one to answer this question. "**Ae (Yes), you're as perceptive as always, Dravola.**" I complimented and looked straight into her brown eyes. "**There is certainly another reason for us to come here.**" I said calmly. Every Dragons' head perked up at this information. "**Lucy and I primarily came here to train.**" I stated.

No one said anything for a while. "**Why would you want to train?**" The Water Dragon Amelane asked carefully from where she sat. Amelane had always been quite silent and careful. She wasn't as headstrong as for example Igneel, and she wasn't a good fighter either, however she was a master with using her water for purification and manipulating water. She was probably better than any of the other Water Dragons, which is also the reason why she's the Head Dragon. She could create a Dragon of water and keep that form for several days in a row. She had great control over her magic, but she wasn't much of a fighter, more the kind of person to tend to others.

I looked at her. "**Because we first of all have to awaken her Dragon, as you've probably noticed she hasn't awakened it yet. Second, she told her guild she'd go train and then come back at some point. So we have to train her so she is ready to meet her guild again.**" I looked around to see if the Dragons were following.

Lucy continued my explanation. "Also, we're figuring out a plan to save Acnologia's father. So I need to be stronger if I'd even stand a chance without being a burden to everyone." She smiled. I looked down at her shocked, I was not entirely sure if it was a good idea to tell them that we were planning to do so yet.

Much to my surprise, Grandine nodded. "**Alright, however there are a lot of things you have to know about Dragons and your element, Peace, before we can begin the training.**" She said, looking at Lucy firmly. I wondered what kind of information Lucy needed, I wasn't told anything when my father started training me. Grandine turned her gaze to me, with a softer expression. "**You can count on my assistance in the retrieval of you father, Kurama Tehepo, Acnologia.**" She smiled her kind smile.

She really would help me get my father back? That's amazing! I didn't know exactly how to reply, but that wouldn't be a problem when Lucy cut me off. "That's fantastic! Your help is much appreciated-" She turned around and beamed at me. "Right Acnologia?" I smiled and nodded, and sent thankful eyes to the Sky Dragon.

Grandine smiled her usual kind smile back to me. Then she seemed to realize something. "**Oh, yeah. Acnologia there's also some things you still don't know about Chaos Dragons, which you'll have to know to get stronger.**" Grandine told me.

What didn't I know about Chaos Dragons? Does it have something to do with whatever Lucy needs to be told? "**Ehh, alright, I guess.**" I paused. "**So does that mean I have to train too?**" I asked the Sky Dragon. She nodded with a smile in her eyes. I perked up a little. "**Really?**"

Glanasile, sitting next to Amelane, sighed and looked at me with his icy stare. "**I thought that would be obvious.**" He said. Glanasile, before today, I had never seen that Dragon smile. Ever. He always wore that icy façade of his. I honestly don't know much about him, but I do know that the way he can manipulate his Ice element, is said to be one of the most beautiful sights here in the Dragon Realm. He's always been calm and collected, except if Igneel is involved, and thinks things through before doing something, the exact opposite of Igneel. He was a strong fighter, as far as I knew, and had a great defense. I scoffed at the white Dragons words. Well excuse me if things are going a little fast.

Grandine nodded again, ignoring the Ice Dragons comment. "**Ae, you haven't fully mastered the power of the Chaos Dragons yet, and I think you're ready to learn it.**" Grandine turned her head to the Earth Dragon. "**What do you think Dravola?**" She asked.

Dravola looked at me with her brown eyes as if she was looking directly into my soul. It was pretty creepy. At last she nodded. "**Ae, I believe he is ready to learn the last aspects of the Chaos Dragons.**" She confirmed. I wondered what part of the Chaos Dragons I didn't know. Wasn't I told everything by my father? I smiled at the old Dragon, she looked back at me expressionlessly. I sweat dropped at her usual expressionless behavior. "**However they need to know the story of their origin.**" She added.

"**This'll take some time.**" Simakan muttered and lay down, making himself comfortable. Simakan isn't very open to people, so I don't know much about him. He was a little lazy sometimes, and didn't really want to participate much in anything. He's the second youngest of us here, like me; he got his spot as Head Dragon in a too young age. Unlike me, though, his father actually died, which was what got him the spot. He was 24 now, I think. It was often heard that the Lightning Dragons brag with his strength, and how painful his Lightning could be, but I'd never seen him in action before.

Metallicana interrupted the conversation by getting up from where he sat. "**Alright, but before we begin the history class, there's some people I need to eat.**" He smirked. He needed to eat people? Who?

Silvia glared at the Iron Dragon. "**Who do you intend on eating Metallicana?**" She asked with a firm voice. Silvia, she always seemed so nice to me. My father liked her too, even if she _was_ a little clingy sometimes. Ever since Layla abandoned her spot as the Head Dragon by marrying Jude Heartfilia, and letting herself being locked away by said husband, Silvia took over for her. Silvia did a good job as a Head Dragon and replacing Layla, but there was some charm that Layla had, which Silvia never had.

Metallicana looked at the silver Dragon and snickered. "**There's a certain Fire Dragon Slayer and a few others. Nothing too big, really.**" Silvia glared at the Iron Dragon. So he was going to eat the Dragon Slayer which was the cause of Lucy's pain. I was in for this, maybe I could even take a bite myself.

Lucy tensed up next to me and stared at the Dragon wide-eyed. "M-Metallicana." She called out.

The Dragon turned his attention to my blonde friend. "**Hm?**"

"Y-you don't have to e-eat Natsu. It's okay, really." Lucy stammered. What was she talking about? How could she be okay with what happened, we can all see how much they had hurt her. Why was she lying?

Metallicana looked at the little girl and took a few steps towards her, to stand just in front of her. He didn't smile or smirk or anything, which was unusual. I got ready to attack if that old geezer went and did something he shouldn't. "**Káo (No), it's not okay. I can see that you're not okay, we all can.**" He said solemnly. I looked shocked at the Dragon in front of me. Did he care for Lucy? Or was he playing some game? The Iron Dragons face lit up in a wide grin. "**Besides, didn't I tell you I'd eat whoever bugs you?**" He asked grinning widely. What kind of agreement had the two of them made?

Lucy looked at the ground. "Well, y-yeah, you did, b-but-" She trailed off. She fiddled a little with her hands and then looked up at Metallicana with determination in her eyes. "Wouldn't it be more fun if I trained to become stronger, and then kick their asses when I return?" She asked the Dragon. Metallicana wouldn't be able to disagree with that. He just couldn't. Had she already figured the Dragon out? In less than five hours? Oh wait, didn't she say the Dragons' son was like him? That would explain it.

Metallicana's eyes began to sparkle and he smirked. "**Ae, it most certainly would.**" He nodded. We all sweat dropped at their conversation. That Dragon just couldn't help himself. He had a never ending addiction to seeing people suffer, emotionlessly or physically, and he loved to see people being beat up. "**I'll come to see that match, you can bet on it!**" He smirked. Well, at least he wouldn't leave now. That was always something.

This time Lucy sweat dropped at the Iron Dragon. "But won't Gajeel recognize your scent?" She asked carefully.

Metallicana furrowed his eyebrows. "**Yeah he will…**" He was lost in thought for a moment and then his face lit up in a wide grin, again. "**Ah, well. We'll figure it out when we get to that point!**" He turned around and walked back to his place next to Sacheba.

Skyadrum's gaze followed the Iron Dragon all the way. "**You are so disgusting sometimes.**" She told him. Skyadrum, as far as I knew, had always been a fierce Dragon. She and Weisslogia were mates, creating peace between the two Clans, much like the arrangement for Lucy and I. Except they both chose it to be so, no one chose it for them. She was never afraid of saying what she thought or felt, and I admired her for that, but sometimes it could also get a little out of hand with the many insults. She could be a little violent sometimes and was a very skilled fighter. On the battlefield she would be silent and deadly, hiding in the shadows and striking a vital spot when she found an opening. She was strong willed, the polar opposite of Amelane, and didn't think much before she spoke. For some reason, she just didn't like Metallicana, and the feeling seemed to be mutual.

Metallicana turned around and glared at the black Dragon. "**Oh, so I am disgusting, am I?**" He began smirking, his red eyes lighting up. "**You better get used to it, 'cause I ain't going nowhere anytime soon!**" He faked an evil laugh.

A vein bulged out near Skyadrum's temple. "**You… **_**Bastard**_**!**" She mumbled while fuming with anger, swiping her tail from side to side.

Weisslogia sighed and put his tail over hers to stop the swiping. "**Ignore him Sky.**" He muttered to her, but with all of us having Dragon senses, we could hear it perfectly clear. Except Lucy, I don't think she's developed it yet. Weisslogia was a calm guy; I don't think I've ever heard him raise his voice. He, much like Grandine, is kind to almost everybody, and was also, much like Grandine, liked by almost everybody. He had a vast amount of experience in battle, or so I heard, and when you came closer, you could also see all the scars that weren't able to heal properly adorning his body. Skyadrum turned her head to the Light Dragon and nodded with a grateful smile. She then nuzzled into him and got comfortable, while he sat as straight as ever.

"**Alright, if the two of you have finished bickering over there, I will continue.**" Dravola said sternly and shook her head at the youngsters surrounding her. I chuckled lightly at the elder Dragon, she'd never really understood us younger ones. Dravola turned her head to the two of us. Her gaze lingered on me. "**Acnologia, I believe it is time for you to hear the story of Acnologia, the founder of the Dragon community and your old grandfather.**" She said slowly. My eyes widened in shock. My father didn't speak too much of him, but when he did, he said that he was an amazing Dragon who saved the whole Dragon race from the evil hands of humans. He also told me I was named after him, because I looked so much like him. I didn't know more than that. So my old grandfather was the one who created the Dragon Community? Why didn't father tell me? I nodded for Dravola to continue. "**Actually, I'll start somewhere else first.**" She paused. "**Well you see-**"

**On the train to Saraj**

**Lisanna's P.O.V**

Why could Lucy, that bimbo, help Natsu when I couldn't? What made her so special?

We were still sitting in the train to this town, Saraj, or whatever. Supposedly there was a monster in the forest near the town and we just had to deal with it. Big deal. Natsu would just kick its ass and then we could go back again.

Erza had woken up a while ago because Natsu had woken up from his unconscious state and had begun moaning and complaining again. She'd knocked him out again and now he slept with his head in my lap, with Happy sitting with his back against his stomach and eating a fish. Gray was sitting next to Erza and seemed to be thinking of something. Somewhere along the way, he had thrown off his shirt. Again. Luckily his pants didn't follow.

"Gray." Said boy looked at me questioningly. I smiled gently at the boy. "Your shirt."

He looked down his torso and sighed. "Why does that shirt always come off?" He asked no one in particular. He stood up and began searching for his shirt.

"Because you took it off, you moron." Natsu replied weakly. I looked down at the boy and tangled my fingers into his hair, playing gently with it. It was much softer than it looked, almost like silk. Natsu's face slowly began to get a sick shade of green.

Just before the Fire Dragon Slayer could complain, the radio broke him off. "We have reached the town Saraj, if this is your destination, please prepare to leave. I repeat. We have reached the town Saraj, if this is your destination, please prepare to leave." The radio said monotonously.

"Finally…" Natsu muttered on my lap. "I don't think I can take much more of this." He complained. I giggled at my childhood friend, it was so adorable when he was like that. Then the train stopped and Natsu jolted to his feet. "YOSH!" He yelled, tore open the window and jumped out, knocking Happy on the floor. He landed on his feet and ran around in circles like a madman. "I'm free~!" He yelled on the top of his lungs. People passing him looked at him oddly and then hurried away.

Erza sighed and shook her head in exasperation. "That moron." She mumbled to herself. I got up from my seat and went out of the train, trying to get to my favorite Dragon Slayer as fast as I could. I didn't know if the other two followed.

Soon, I got out and I ran to my friend who was still running in a circle with a wide smile on his face. I latched onto his arm and giggled at him. "Natsu calm down." I smiled, not very convincingly.

I heard heavy footsteps and the noises of metal coming closer. "That's good, Lisanna! Keep him down!" A female voice complimented yelling. I looked up and saw Erza coming closer with an approving smile to me and Happy flying next to her. Gray slumped after her, caught in his own world with a scowl on his face. Once again, his shirt was off, but instead of throwing it some random place, he had it slung over his shoulder. Erza reached Natsu and I, who were still running in circles. She grabbed the salmon-haired boys wrist and held it steady, making it impossible for Natsu to run around. "Stop this craziness this instant Natsu!" Erza scolded him.

Natsu stopped instantly and stared at Erza with wide, frightened eyes. "A-aye sir!" He yelled and saluted with the hand I was latched onto. I let go slowly of his arm, already missing his warmth, and smiled at my nakama. This was how it was supposed to be- "Are you coming, Gray? We need to find the mayor." Erza asked the raven-haired boy. Everything was almost as it was supposed to be, we just needed to cheer the Ice mage up somehow. I wondered what he was thinking. Is it because that Jubia-girl or whatever slapped him? Or was it that orange-haired guy who beat them up?

Gray looked up at Erza and nodded silently, slowly walking behind the others as they reached the mayors' house. It was just like the rest of the buildings here, old and worn out. Erza knocked at the equally worn out door firmly three times, and the door opened immediately, revealing an old, tall man who was a little too thin. He had a friendly smile. "Come in, come in. Are you the Fairy Tail mages I requested?" He asked nicely.

"Yes, we are the mages from Fairy Tail." Erza answered. The man nodded and opened the door wide for the four of us and a cat. We all walked in and followed him to a room with a table and eight chairs.

The mayor sat on one side and we sat on the opposite, Happy in Natsu's lap. "Alright, so the problem is that in the forest west from here, people have been hearing… _things_. Like roars and tramps from a big monster, even attacks. None of us here in town are strong enough to do anything, only a little handful has slight magic, but it is by no means strong enough to beat a monster of that caliber, and we very much need that forest, it is where we get all our wood for our houses and whatnot, so you see, we need to get rid of this monster." The mayor explained. Erza nodded. "Are you up for the task youngsters?" He asked.

Natsu grinned widely and toothily, showing off his unique teeth. "Yosh! I'm all fired up!" He exclaimed.

The mayor looked weirdly at him, obviously not completely understanding the Dragon Slayer. "What he's saying is that we are in for it." I told the man, smiling friendly at him. He returned the smile and nodded in understanding.

Erza stood up from her chair with straight back. "The forest is west from here, you say?" She asked. The mayor nodded again. Erza sent him a reassuring smile. "Alright, thank you. We'll take care of the rest." She stated firmly. Our little group got up and went out of his house. Erza walked in the direction towards the west. "This way." She demanded. The rest of us just followed the Scarlet-haired mage, there was no use in going against her words, it would just be plain stupid. Well unless you were trying to commit suicide.

We walked through the town and soon we could see the forest. Honestly, it was creepy. There were only pine trees as far as I could see, and there were a thick layer of fog hovering under the tree crowns. It was completely silent from where we were, not even a crunch of leaves, twittering birds or rustling breezes. Nothing. There was only this thick layer of cold fog. I glanced sideways at Gray, who didn't seem to make any moves of recognition that we'd reached a forest. Natsu was smiling at the forest with Happy on his head, cheery as always and Erza was staring at it with her hands on her hips.

Erza was the first to say something. "Right. Let's go in." Erza said.

Natsu held his hand up to stop her. "No wait, I smell something here." He sniffed around, holding his head down low to the ground. Erza raised a single eyebrow and watched as Natsu played dog. What could he be smelling? "What is this? It seems awfully familiar, but at the same time something I haven't smelled for some time." Natsu muttered to himself. I widened my eyes slightly. Could it be that the monster in here was in fact Igneel, Natsu's lost father? Then Natsu continued muttering to himself. "I know it's not Igneel's, it's different, more sweet." Alright, so it wasn't Igneel.

"What do you smell, Natsu?" Erza asked, genuinely curious about whoever this scent belonged to.

Natsu looked at Erza with a frown. "It smells of vanilla and strawberries, but I just don't know who this could belong to." I saw Gray perk up as 'vanilla and strawberries' was mentioned. He now stood rigidly and stared at Natsu as if he was a moron. Natsu caught this and glared at the Ice mage. "What, Ice Princess? Why are you looking at me like that?" Natsu asked confusedly.

Gray shook his head at his rival. "I'll just wait till you figure it out yourself." Gray said. Then he seemed to fall back into his thoughts again as his frown deepened with every second. Why wouldn't Gray tell Natsu who this scent belonged to? And how did he figure it out? Natsu paid the guy no more attention and kept sniffing around.

Erza, who also seemed to be trying to figure out who this smell belonged to, suddenly broke out of her thoughts. "Oh well, let's try to follow it and see where it leads us." She suggested, or more like demanded. "Maybe that'll give us some clues." Natsu and I nodded, and we all went into the forest with Gray trailing behind us.

We followed Natsu into the forest and after an hour of walking, following this scent, we came to a clearing, where the sun broke through all the trees. "The scent is a little stronger here." Natsu muttered and followed it to the middle of the clearing; his nose twitched a pair of times. "There's also another scent here. It's more animal that the other, it smells like… trouble." Natsu muttered and looked at us back over his shoulder. "I don't know how else to explain it." He looked back down at the ground and followed the new scent a little to the back of the clearing. He went in behind the trees, and I quickly followed him while Erza surveyed the area for potential monsters.

We only needed to take a pair of steps behind the first row of trees, when we found many of the trees beyond that crushed and broken to the ground. I gasped and held my hand to my mouth. "What is this?" Then I realized that this probably was that monster we were supposed to slay.

Natsu had realized too, his lips were in a straight line and he stared at the broken trees with hard, onyx eyes. "This is not good." He said, mostly to himself. He turned around quickly and went back to Erza and Gray. They both looked up at Natsu when he came into view, Erza with a question in her eyes and Gray filled with boredom, but also disappointment. "The other scent… It was the scent of the monster we are supposed to defeat." Natsu said slowly. Their eyes widened exponentially, especially Grays'.

Gray turned around and went deeper into the forest with a scowl on his face. My gaze followed him as he left. "Wonder what's up with him." I said to the other two when Gray was out of range.

Natsu shrugged. "I don't know, and I don't care. He's been weird since we came into that train." He said and so we went a little deeper into the forest, following Gray, to look for that monster.

**I think someone's figured something out, don'cha think? Actually, it was quite random, when I began writing it just came out that way, there's no helping it. Honestly.**

**Anyway. What did you think of this new chapter? Good, bad, depressing (Hopefully not, I don't want my readers to be depressed .-.), hilarious? REMEMBER TO REVIEW PEOPLE! – Only if you feel like it though. **

**TRANSLATIONS – There's not many this time!**

'**Káo' means 'No'. – That was it ^_^**

**Thank you Naeda Beasley, Kurosaki Yukia, Cameron (Guest), PoisonPen19, BlueFiestaMockingjayPie, TheRedSquare, Peducchio, Darklucarby, Howk, clumzybeans, Storyguy567, Lyric Chan, GoddessPrimaBella, Your Ojou-Sama, Kimberli-Gomez, shae1472, sora93232, Kagari Higuchi, darkwolfmaster12, SweetDreamer215, .744, Mellow Redfox, l0ren, EverRose808, SakuraMirage1, MilleniumGoddess, ariannapotter96, .96, NamikazeAi-chan, nalu fangirl, Guest and all you other readers, followers, favoriters and reviewers for continuously reading my story! I love you guys.**

**~ Line464d**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

**We've reached over 100 favorites! That's just amazing! And it's all thanks to you guys. Seriously, what would I do without you guys? I can't thank you enough.**

**History tiiiiiiime! Yeah, there'll be a little explaining in this one (Just like the others.. Sowwyy!). The Dragons' past, basically. **

**I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made. R&R!**

**Disclaimer: Slowpoke, being a slowpoke, hasn't realized his mistake as of yet**

**In the field Dragon Realm**

**Lucys' P.O.V**

I focused all my attention on Dravola as she began explaining. "**Well, you see it all started with the first Dragons.**" The Earth Dragon started. "**Many thousand years ago, Dragons ruled Earthland and the humans, but even before that, when there were no humans, Dragons still existed. There were only two different elements, the Peace Dragons, or the Life Dragons as they were called then, and the Chaos Dragons, or the Death Dragons as they were also called then. These two big types of Dragon lived on Earthland and ruled all living things there. The Peace Dragons and the Chaos Dragons could never agree on anything, and there were an intense hatred between the two.**" She explained in one long go. I remained silent, intrigued with the story of the old Dragons. "**Many battles were fought between the two, as they often clashed, and many from both sides died. However, the Chaos Dragons was stronger in terms of fighting power, and they usually overpowered the Peace Dragons with little effort.**" She looked at me and saw the puzzled expression I was wearing. "**Chaos Dragons' element is much more battle-related than the Peace Dragons', the Peace Dragons are more a kind of support Dragons, I guess you can say. The Chaos Dragons have much more raw power and destruction, whereas the Peace Dragons are healers and protectors. This also lead to the Peace Dragon Clan becoming very little, almost exterminated completely.**" The Earth Dragon sighed. "**At some point, the humans appeared in Earthland, and that lead to the Dragons developing a human form as well. The Dragons, now with a new power, went and 'mingled' with the humans, if you know what I mean. They got children with humans, and that's how humans developed magic powers.**" Oh, so every mage had a Dragon in their family deep, deep down? That's kind of interesting. "**Some of these human-children became Dragons, with their own element. That is because if the mother was a Dragon and the father a human, then the child would be a Dragon. If the mother was a human and the father a Dragon, the child would be a human with magic powers. For Dragons, the mothers' element decides what element the child will have, if father and mother are from different elements, because she is the one carrying the child around, and therefore they have more influence on the child, than the father.**" Dravola explained, probably mostly to me as I was quite sure Acnologia knew that already. "**Anyway, the children which became Dragons had one of the mothers' elements.**" Wait, did she say element_s_? Like, in more than one? Dravola looked down at me and up at Acnologia alternately. "**And this is actually what's most important for you training, a Peace Dragon has the healing abilities of the Sky Dragons, the purifying abilities of the Water Dragons, the ability to give life to for example plants or animals of the Earth Dragons, they own the brightness of the Light Dragons and the beauty of the Ice Dragons.**" Dravola explained and shifted her gaze to Acnologia. I felt my jaw drop a little at those words. Does the Peace Dragons really own that many elements? "**The Chaos Dragons own the destructive abilities of the Fire Dragons, the hardened abilities of the Iron Dragons, the cauterizing abilities of the Poison Dragons, the darkness of the Shadow Dragons and the ability to make their opponent suffer of the Lightning Dragons.**" Dravola inhaled deeply and exhaled slowly after that.

This was so amazing! I couldn't believe it, it was just so… I didn't have any words to explain it. I waited for the elder Dragon to continue her story. It was becoming more and more exciting as she explained it all.

Dravola continued explaining. "**So, a child of a Peace Dragon could have any of the five elements of the mother and likewise with the children of Chaos Dragons. This was the birth of the last ten elements of Dragons.**" Dravola paused.

"**So does that mean that we, the Peace and Chaos Dragons, can learn all of our five elements?**" Acnologia asked with a confused tone. I looked up at my childhood friend; he seemed to be surprised with the information. Why didn't he know this? Didn't Kurama tell him about it? If that's the case, why?

"**Ae (Yes), Acnologia. You can learn to use Fire, Iron, Shadow, Lightning and Poison magic along with your Chaos. You can also mix them together for new moves however you like.**" Grandine smiled at the Dragon. She looked down at me. "**And the same goes for you Lucy, but with Ice, Water, Sky, Earth, Light and Peace magic.**" She smiled. I didn't know what to do besides nodding; I was too overwhelmed to say anything. Could I really learn all that? "**Your elemental powers are also enhanced to that of the Dragons with only one element.**" She told us. My eyes widened. We were stronger too? "**For example, Lucy your healing power with the Sky magic will be stronger than the healing power I possess.**" Grandine smiled. That was amazing. Just plain amazing.

Acnologia looked at Dravola. "**Why haven't I been told this before?**" He finally asked the question we both wanted and an explanation for.

Dravola sighed and looked straight into the Chaos Dragons' eyes. "**That is because you weren't ready to know about it or learn it until then.**" She said flatly. Acnologia tilted his head to urge her to continue. "**If you'd known about it too early, and had learned it at a young stage, your body maybe couldn't contain all that magic, and you would go crazy. This would be fatal, with all the magic you'd have at that point. Or you could get power-hungry and try to overthrow the Dragon Community. So you see, it is important that you are ready to learn this, both physically and mentally.**" Dravola explained. Well that made sense. "**Also, it is only Head Dragons that are allowed to learn of this. Same as before, if someone feels they're being treated unfair, they'll try to overthrow the Dragon Community and throw and uproar. Something we want to avoid.**" Acnologia nodded in understanding.

Grandine nodded at the Earth Dragons explanation. "**Dravola, may I continue explaining from here on?**" She asked the older Dragon, who just nodded in reply. Grandine looked back at Acnologia again. "**This doesn't have much to do with your training, but we believe it is important for you to know.**" Acnologia just nodded slowly. I wondered what they were going to explain now. I got down on the ground and sat comfortably, as I felt this one could be long. "**It is about your grandfather. Acnologia the Dragon of the Apocalypse, as the humans have dubbed him.**" Grandine rolled her eyes. I furrowed my eyebrows, I'd heard that name somewhere before. I just don't remember where. "**Your grandfather was- Káo (No) let me start somewhere else. 400 years ago, not long after the last ten types of elements were found and put together, the humans with magic powers didn't like how the Dragons believed themselves to be above the humans. A war broke out between the two fronts, and some Dragons went to fight with the humans against their own. They believed we should coexist with the humans, whereas the other Dragons, those fighting the humans, believed it to be impossible.**" Grandine looked down at the ground with sadness in her eyes. "**The human side was quickly losing the fight. The humans had nothing even near the power the Dragons had, and the few Dragons on their side weren't enough, they had to figure something else out.**" The light blue Dragon sighed and looked up at Acnologia again. "**So they found an extremely capable human with a huge magical pressure, and had the Chaos Head Dragon at that time train the human, since he was the strongest of all the Dragons on the human side and also in general. The Dragons' name was Gufiadom Tehepo, he was probably the strongest Chaos Dragon to ever exist, but he was not strong enough to fight over a thousand Dragons at the same time himself. The human was your grandfather, Acnologia.**" I gasped. Acnologia's grandfather, the Dragon of the Apocalypse, was a human? "**Gufiadom trained you grandfather in Dragon Slaying magic, magic created to slay Dragons specifically. They went off somewhere unknown and trained while the war still raged on. A few years later, the human came back stronger than what we'd thought he'd be, with Gufiadom behind him. Acnologia began slaying Dragon after Dragon, relentlessly killing everyone going against him. No Dragon could ever match up to his strength. After having slayed relentlessly in a week, he slowly began turning into a Dragon himself.**" Grandine paused shortly, before continuing in a slower pace. "**We don't know what caused him to turn into a Dragon, but my guess would be after he had killed so many Dragons, maybe some of the blood they spilled somehow seeped into and mixed with his own blood, and thus transforming him.**" Grandine smiled slightly. "**Anyway, soon he turned into a Dragon completely. The powers he had, Dragon Slayer powers, remained as effective against Dragons as ever, even though he himself was a Dragon. The battles he fought were fierce, and many cities, towns, buildings and also humans were caught in the crossfire and killed. This led the humans to believe that Acnologia was a bad Dragon, along with the rest of us Dragons, who had fought on their side. Acnologia ended the fight, and the human side were victorious, however because the humans found it impossible to coexist with Dragons, the surviving Dragons, figured that they needed somewhere else to be. There were only a little under a thousand Dragons left still alive, whereas there before the war were several millions. Acnologia used almost all of his remaining magic to create and send the surviving Dragons to the Dragon Realm.**" I felt the tears stinging in the back of my eyes. This story was so sad; I couldn't believe that all this had happened. "**After the war, Acnologia didn't have much magic left to fight with, but he created the Dragon Community and established peace between the Clans. He found himself a mate and became the Head of the Chaos Clan, as he had found his master, Gufiadom dead during the fight. Not long after that, he died, but he had left his mate with a child, which was your father, Kurama.**" Grandine ended off. "**The humans believe Acnologia, the Dragon of the Apocalypse, to be a creation of Zeref and an evil being, but they are so wrong it's almost comical. Your grandfather is the ideal Dragon in our belief and we've built this community in his beliefs and how he'd wanted it to be. So it's equal for all.**" She smiled to my childhood friend.

I felt tears falling from my eyes. Why did Gufiadom have to die? Why couldn't those people see how much Acnologia, the Dragon of the Apocalypse, did to help them? Why did he have to die too?

I felt something big streaking my arm, it was smooth and a felt a little like snakeskin. I looked down and saw a royal blue tail with something resembling a fish-fin in top. It was smooth and snakelike. I looked up to look into the dark purple eyes of Amelane. She was smiling down at me and stroke my arm with her tail. I smiled thankfully up at her and wiped away my tears. I glanced at Acnologia; he was sitting there speechless and wide eyed, staring at Grandine. You could almost hear the gears spinning in his head.

I looked at Grandine, who was looking alternately at Acnologia and I, her gaze lingering on Acnologia a little longer. "That was such a beautiful story." I muttered, knowing they could all hear me with their Dragon senses. Grandine nodded with a sad smile. I turned my gaze to Acnologia, who hadn't moved at all. This was a big shock to him; I wondered why they hadn't told him earlier, probably for the same reasons. So he wouldn't go all crazy and want to kill the entire human race. Dragons' senses and everything else was enhanced, so he might be feeling an intense hatred towards humans now. I shivered a little at the thought and hoped he wouldn't go that far. "Your grandfather was a true hero, Acnologia." I said with a bright smile.

He slowly turned his head to me and looked down on me with soft eyes and nodded. "**Yes, he was indeed a true hero.**" He smiled a little smile and looked up at Dravola. "**Thank you for sharing this with me, I appreciate it a lot.**" He told her.

Dravola looked at the Chaos Dragon. "**You shouldn't thank me; thank your father when you rescue him. He was the one who said that I should tell you, when you reached a point where I estimated you to be ready to know.**" She said plainly. I widened my eyes and smiled like an idiot. She basically said she gave us the green lights to go rescue Kurama!

Acnologia smiled at the Earth Dragon again and bowed his head slightly. "**Thank you, Dravola.**" He repeated. The old lady sighed and nodded, but not without a tiny smile on her lips. That was the first time I saw her show some emotion, she'd been quite unexpressive the whole time. "**So, about the training…**" Acnologia trailed off.

Dravola looked at Acnologia and nodded again. "**Ae (Yes). We will have to figure something out.**" She said. "**But first, we need the two of you to find those hidden elements –**" She looked at me with her brown eyes. "**And we need you to awaken your Dragon form.**" I nodded; I was actually looking forward to discover that other side of me, even though I was a little scared at the same time too. It was so hard to understand that there was a Dragon in me. So unreal that this was actually happening to me.

"**Yeah, how'll we go about doing that?**" Glanasile asked Dravola.

The elder Dragon looked at him and then back at me. "**You said you were in this… Fairy Tail.**" I nodded. Where was she going with this? "**Am I correct in assuming this is a mages' guild?**" She asked bluntly. I just nodded, not sure what to say or do in the situation. Dravola looked back at Glanasile. "**Then it's easy, we'll just have her work on the magic she already possesses.** **Then eventually she'll be strong enough for the Dragon to awaken, and that's when we can start the other part of the training.**" Dravola said matter-of-factly.

Glanasile remained expressionless, but seemed a little tensed. Igneel looked at Dravola wide eyed. "**So what you're saying is she already has magic?**" Dravola nodded and rolled her eyes at the stupid question. "**But that's impossible!**" He said a little loudly. I looked between them, why was this impossible? I'd had magic ever since I was little.

Skyadrum sighed at the Fire Dragon. "**Moron.**" She mumbled loud enough for everyone to hear. "**Don't you remember Layla also had human magic?**" She asked exasperatedly. Igneel scrunched his face up in thought and nodded after a while. The Shadow Dragon rolled her eyes. "**That was because her father too was a human, who coincidentally possessed Celestial magic.**" Skyadrum turned her head and looked at me with a smile. "**I'm sure the magic you possess is like your mothers, Celestial magic. Am I right?**"

I nodded with a smile. "Yeah, that's right. I'm a Celestial mage." I smiled. Most of the surrounding Dragons dropped their jaws. Honestly, Metallicana and Sacheba looked hilarious, that expression just didn't fit their tough appearance. I giggled a little at the two.

Skyadrum smiled and nodded in satisfaction. Amelane, who had dropped her tail next to me, leaned down slightly. "**What keys do you own now?**" She asked softly.

I beamed at the Water Dragon and pulled out the keys in my belt. "I already have 14. Nine Gold keys and five Silver." I answered.

Amelane's eyes widened slightly in surprise. "**That's quite many, isn't it?**" She asked.

I nodded. "Yeah, it's a lot actually." Amelane smiled down at me and nodded.

"**So, which do you already own?**" Weisslogia asked. At that point, I realized all the attention was on me, and I suddenly became extremely self-conscious. I'd never been like that before, why start now?

"U-uh. Of the Gold keys, I have the l-leader Leo the Lion, Aries the Ram, Cancer the Crab, Aquarius the Water Bearer, Scorpio the Scorpion, Sagittarius the Archer, Taurus the Bull, Gemini the Twins and Virgo the Maiden." I listed, gaining a little power in my voice as I spoke. I still don't know why I got so nervous, honestly. "Of the Silver keys, I have Nikora the Canis Minor, Lyra the Lyre, Horologium the Clock, Crux the Southern Cross and Pyxis the Compass." I smiled, having named all my closest friends that I carry around.

Skyadrum nodded with a wide smile. "**Well, that's indeed many. You have three out of four of the keys your mother owned.**" She said. Huh? Don't I have them all? Aquarius, Cancer and Taurus, those were the ones she gave me then, years ago. "**You already have Aquarius, Cancer and Taurus.**" She stated as if she'd read my mind. "**But there's still one you do not own yet. Capricorn.**" She smiled. "**Capricorn was her most trusted Spirit, if I remember correctly.**" I widened my eyes. Capricorn? I didn't know Mama had Capricorn. Why hadn't she also given me that key? – Not supposed to sound so selfish. But why hadn't she ever mentioned him to me?

I heard some rustling noises and looked up to see Skyadrum take something off Weisslogia's golden armor with her tail. I couldn't see what it was she had taken; it was too small and covered completely by the tail. The Shadow Dragon walked over to me and rolled her tail out in front of me, showing what she was holding. It was a little Gold key, which would be easily hidden in Weisslogia's armor, with a mark with something similar to a 'V' and a 'S' written together. At the end of it, there was something resembling the curling horns on a goat.

I immediately recognized the key as Capricorn's. "I-is this..?" I asked, unable to complete my question.

Skyadrum smiled and nodded. "**Yes, this is Capricorn the Goat.**" She confirmed. "**Your mother gave this key to Amelane and me so we'd remember her – she said, but also so we could pass it on to you, when we met you. This was just before she left to marry **_**Jude**_**.**" She hissed my fathers' name. "**I've taken care of the key, waiting for the day her daughter would show up anxiously-**" She paused and smiled gently at me. "**So I could give her the last key.**" My eyes widened. She'd give me Capricorn? Just like that? Skyadrum extended her tail a little further, so it was right in front of me, with its beautifully decorated key on top.

I looked up at Skyadrum, as if for allowance, she nodded and I slowly reached out for the key. This was the last key my mother owned. The last thing she left for me. I picked up the Gold key, feeling the cool feeling of the metal in my hands, at the same time, a welcoming warmth spread from my hand and throughout my whole body. The key glowed warmly in recognition of its new Master. I smiled softly down at my new friend.

I heard a whistle behind me and felt an arm on my shoulder. "Ehh, is that Capricorn?" A male voice asked. A voice I recognized a little too well. I looked up at the man who rested his arm on my shoulder. Orange mane-like hair, sunglasses, cat like facial features, an open suit with a red tie. Yes, there was no doubt about it. "Haven't seen him for a while." Loke smiled. I sighed, why did he always have to pop up in the weirdest times?

I heard a growling sound in front of me and looked up to see Skyadrum hissing at Loke. "**Who are you, human?**" She growled, indicating a hidden threat if he didn't answer her.

Loke looked up at her and beamed. "I'm Loke, also known as Leo the Lion, Leader of the Zodiac keys in Earthland. Nice to meet you Miss..?" Loke answered politely.

Skyadrum seemed a little surprised, but regained her composure. "**Skyadrum Atarangi.**" She stated her name. "**Nice to meet you too, Lucy's Spirit.**" She replied a little coldly.

Loke ignored her icy words completely. "Ah, Skyadrum Atarangi, what a beautiful name." He beamed at her again. I felt a vein bulge out at my temple. You have _got_ to be kidding me. I hit him in the head hard. "Ow! What was that for?" He asked innocently, but with smirking eyes.

Which only made me even more irritated. "Stop flirting with Dragons who already _has_ a mate! Idiot." I scolded my Spirit, who only grinned in return.

Skyadrum looked at me a little baffled. "**Is he usually like this?**" She asked straight out.

I sighed and nodded. "Yeah, he flirts with everyone." I answered exasperatedly.

Loke's pulled me into him with his one arm. "Aww, Princess~, but you know who I truly love is-" I covered his mouth before he could say more, face red with embarrassment. Great first impression. Just fantastic.

Someone broke into a deep fit of laughter somewhere behind Skyadrum. I looked to see Igneel laughing his eyes out. Why didn't it surprise me? Soon many of the other Dragons joined in on Igneel's contagious laughter. I giggled a little right alongside them.

Loke, after getting over the punch, looked at me with a smile. "Ah, yeah. I've spoken with the Spirit King. He's cleared these next 28 days in the Spirit World, so that you can train with him at any time the next 14 years here." Loke told me. I looked at him shocked. Had the Spirit King really cleared all these days so that I can train? That's just crazy!

I jumped a little up and down on the spot and squealed. "Yayy! Thank you Loke!" I smiled and threw my arms around him in a hug. He caught me and hugged me back gently.

Amelane tilted her head and furrowed her eyebrows. "**The Spirit King..?**" She muttered.

Skyadrum looked at the Water Dragon with a little smile. "**Yeah, I remember Layla telling us about him.**" Amelane looked at her friend curiously. "**He is the strongest of all Spirits, apparently too strong for any Celestial mage to have his key. Or so I've heard.**" She explained.

I nodded at her words, having listened to their conversation. "Yeah, that's right. And that very Spirit had agreed to help me train! It's amazing!" I said excitedly. It was impossible to believe that he had actually said yes to help my training. It was just amazing. Sure, I heard Loke telling me the same thing yesterday, but the whole of 28 days in the Spirit World!

Dravola cleared her throat to gain everyone's attention. "**From your description of him, he's the King of the Spirits-**" I thought that was obvious? "**And probably has a lot of work to do too.**" She looked directly at me, with a firm gaze. "**You are lucky to be taught by even the King of the Spirits.**" She looked to be in thought for a moment. Then nodded to herself. "**Ae (Yes). I'll be calling for the Head Dragon of the smaller Clan of Celestial Dragons to help you out as well.**" Dravola nodded. My eyes widened. Even the Head Dragon of the Celestial Clan would help me? Now all we need is a god, then we're all together. But… Didn't Moustache-Man somehow lie under the category 'God'?

A silence followed after her words, the group looking at each other, wondering who'd be the next to say something.

Simakan turned his head to Dravola and looked at her with a lazy expression. "**So, when do we start all this?**" He asked lazily.

Dravola looked into his eyes for a little while, remaining silent. "**Well, Glanasile and I will have to come up with a program of some sorts.**" She looked to the Ice Dragon, who nodded in approval. "**So we'll start tomorrow.**" She stated, then she looked at Acnologia, with a stern expression. "**You two should probably find somewhere to stay. You can't come into any of the Clans, I'm afraid, the other Dragons will notice you and Lucy, and quickly put two and two together.**" She paused. "**Which we do not want to happen.**" She looked into the forest on the other side of the river. "**I believe there is a cave somewhere in there, where you can stay.**" Acnologia nodded. A cave again, huh? Well I can live with that. "**Alright. Then Glanasile and I will take our leave so we can discuss this program.**" Dravola stated and spread out her wings and flew up in the air, going the opposite way of the forest. Glanasile nodded to me as a 'see you later' and then followed the Earth Dragon. None of them giving me time to wave back or anything.

We watched as the two Dragons flew away and disappeared from out sight. Igneel, who'd miraculously remained silent a long way through it all, looked at me excitedly. "**So Lucy tell us about your adventures with Fairy Tail!**" He said excitedly. Basuril, who had slept the last few hours and had woken up, also looked at me excitedly with sparkling eyes and nodding quickly with his head.

I sighed. "Alright, but there are many." I thought back and remembered all my adventures vividly. "I'll just start from the beginning I guess-" I said and told them the very first day I met Natsu. Much more detailed this time.

**The forest west from Saraj**

**Grays' P.O.V**

I couldn't believe their denseness. I could understand Flame Head, but Erza too? Didn't they realize this person was Lucy? She'd probably gone on that mission alone after what we said a few days ago. She had said her rent was due, if I remember correctly. Who am I kidding, Lucy _always _needed money for the rent. But she never went on so dangerous missions, she'd usually have chosen something more simple. Maybe she wanted to show us, or maybe herself, that she wasn't as weak as we'd thought she was.

That monster… Had it killed her? No, it couldn't have. Lucy still had her Spirits, and they were loyal to her and would protect her, even Aquarius. Lucy wouldn't be defeated by a mere creature, there was more to her than that. Loke was with her, and I knew for a fact that he would protect her against anything.

I hadn't been honest when I'd said she was weak. In my eyes, Lucy was one of the stronger in our guild. She could open a gate to another world, who else in our guild could do that? Yeah, exactly. No one could. And she probably also had the nicest character of all of us. She was kind and forgiving, to even her enemies.

I'd have preferred Lucy over Lisanna any day, but the four of us had made the promise to become a team someday, and I wasn't one to break my promises. I hated the rule that a Team at max could have 4 members in it. No, Wendy never really was a member of our team like that. She was more like… Tagging along I guess. And Exceeds didn't count. I don't know why Master made that rule, I thought it was ridiculous. It would have been so nice if it wasn't there, then we hadn't had to kick Lucy off Team Natsu, then both Lucy and Lisanna could be on the team, without any problems.

I pulled myself out of my thoughts and looked around at my surroundings. I was still in the forest, surrounded by those damn pine trees – I'd had enough of them already – A little further ahead, I could see a mountain of some sort reaching over the trees. I decided that I might as well go there.

So I walked towards the mountain. After a little while, I ended up in front of it. There was a big semi-circle in the mountain, making a big cave. The semi-circle was even taller than the trees. In the grass in front of the cave I could see four big footprints. I stepped closer to inspect it further, it was a ginormous foot, and it pointed out in four spikes in the end. The other four were similar to the first, although the back two a little bit bigger. I quickly realized that I had reached the cave, in which the monster lived.

I looked up at the cave carefully, I couldn't see or hear anything from it, so my curiosity got the best of me and I tip toed forward. I went to the edge of the one side of the cave and pressed my bare skin on my back and arms against the cold stone and peeked into the cave. Wait… _Bare back_? I looked down, only to find myself being stripped off my shirt. I moaned quietly, why couldn't I just keep my shirt on? I looked back over the little field, or what you would call it, and quickly found my shirt lying on the ground. With my pants right next to it. Oh for Mavis' sake, why did I always do that?

What does it matter, the monster wouldn't mind either way. I ignored the fact that I only stood in boxers and peeked into the cave again. All I could see was darkness, and I couldn't hear anything from the cave. I silently tip toed into the cave, making sure I didn't make any sounds and soon I found a gigantic nest. It was big enough for the whole Fairy Tail guild and there'd still be space left!

I crept closer to the nest, even though no one was around to discover me. The nest was of many different plants, although all dead, and sticks. In the middle of it all, a big part of it was pressed down, as if the monster had been lying there recently. I climbed up in the nest and got closer.

First thing I noticed was what could be seen as the front feet, clawed front feet, between them, a long neck reached out and at the end, an oval-shaped circle sat. Probably the head. I looked back down at the front legs, across the part where the big torso had been, the back legs and at last, I followed a long line, which circled around and was held a little out of its torso. I guessed that long line was its tail. It had been lying in an awkward position, hadn't it? It didn't seem like the way a normal… Whatever it was, would lie. Looking the whole thing over again, I recognized its shapes. It looked an awful lot like how I'd imagine a Dragon looked.

"Hey, Ice Prick, your clothes are out here!" An annoying voice cut my thoughts off. I turned my head to glare at the pink-headed bastard. "Put them on already, I'm getting tired of watching your naked body all the time!" He added, and then looked at what I was standing in. His face lit up in a brilliant smile. Which annoyed me to no end, especially right now. "Ooh, what have you found there?" He ran up to me excitedly, as I kept glaring at the moron.

Erza and Lisanna stepped into view, and I unconsciously waited for a blonde Celestial mage to appear too, but quickly realized she wouldn't. I shook my head a little and looked away from the two. "Gray." A firm female voice called out. I looked up again to look into Erza's eyes at the entrance. "Don't go running off like that again." I nodded, not really putting anything into it. Erza stared into my eyes a second longer and then nodded too, looking at the nest. "Yes, what is it you have found here?" She then asked.

Natsu ran up to me just as I was about to answer. "It's a biiiiiiiig nest! Big enough for a Dragon!" He exclaimed, not aware of how close he was to the truth.

I sighed at his continuous stupidity. "Natsu. It is big enough for a Dragon, because it is _meant_ for a Dragon." I told him exasperatedly. "Moron." I muttered under my breath in addition.

Natsu's head shot up and looked at me expectantly. "A Dragon? Really?" Then he narrowed his eyes at me. "How can you be so sure? Stripper." He added, obviously not believing me.

I sighed again and pointed at the mark of the Dragon. "Just look at that, Fire Brain." How would he ever survive without Team Natsu?

Natsu looked at the nest again, and seemed to notice what I was pointing at. "Ooh…" He turned his head around to the two others. "Yeah, it really is a Dragon!" I shook my head, and watched the two others and Happy, who had fallen back a little apparently, widen their eyes. They rushed up to the nest and looked down at it too.

Lisanna looked back up at Natsu. "And you said it was the same scent as in the clearing?" She asked.

Natsu nodded. "Yeah, both the monster and the other one too. The sweet one." I shot my head up at him. What? She was here too? What had happened to her? Had the Dragon held her hostage or… Are Dragons even clever enough for that kind of things? "They're both much stronger here than even in the clearing. It also seems the both of them left a while ago, along with… A cat? Okay, now I'm confused." Natsu shook his head. The cat… It must've been Loke, I wondered what happened… "A cat, a human and a Dragon. Alright. Ah, what does it matter? We just have to slay the Dragon, and then we'll take care of the human and cat!" Natsu grinned toothily. I sighed again at his stupidity and denseness. Maybe Loke had been fighting to save Lucy? What if he wasn't strong enough? What would have happened to Lucy?

I looked at Erza, who also mulled over what this whole thing was. I shook my head. Erza too? I could understand Lisanna, since she never _really_ met Lucy, and Natsu had always been dense, but I had hoped he could recognize his best friends' scent. And Erza, she should be able to figure it out too, why were they so slow?

I moaned out loud and walked, or stomped, out of the cave. I looked around at the trees outside the cave, and they seemed like they'd been terrorized by a strong wind. A wind that could possibly be made by wings, maybe? Hmm, maybe I could feel the magical pressure of the Dragon? It was worth a try. And so, I closed my eyes and focused on trailing the magical pressure, I quickly found the strongest one, which most likely was the Dragons' and opened my eyes. Although I couldn't see it, I could feel the Dragon quite well. Lucys' magical pressure was completely gone, which made me kind of nervous. It could only mean one of two things; her magic was completely hidden by the much stronger magic of the Dragon, or she simply wasn't there. In other words, she'd been eaten. I desperately hoped it would be the first of the two, the latter was too frightening to even consider.

I tried to feel where the Dragon had went, but somewhere along the way, it just disappeared. Or rather, flew into another magic and disappeared afterwards. I wondered what it all meant. So it'd disappeared had it? Well, in that case our mission is already cleared, since the monster had flown away and wasn't a threat to Saraj.

I turned around to face my team, as they were still mulling over the nest. "The Dragon left with the human and cat, the mission is already cleared." I said exasperatedly, not sure if I was correct, but hoping with all my being that I was. The three turned to look at me with weird expressions.

Natsu was the first to say something. "And how are you so sure about that, Droopy Eye?" Natsu asked not believing a single word I said.

I sighed again, which I'd done many times lately. "Because I followed the Dragons' magical pressure out here, and they disappeared abruptly in the sky into another magical pressure." I explained. "The mission is over and done with."

Erza walked out with a skeptic look in her face, standing next to me, she too closed her eyes and focused. I watched her as she opened her eyes again and followed the magical pressure I had followed just before. Then she nodded. "Yes, Gray is right. They definitely disappeared." She looked back at the three others. "Well then. Let's go back again." She walked off with heavy steps where we had come from. The three rushed up to her quickly and followed close behind. I followed them all, but fell behind a little purposely.

Where had that Dragon went? Had it eaten Lucy or was she still alive? How could they just disappear midair? Why was Lucy with a Dragon in the first place? Why had she gone with it into its cave? Was it someone she knew? Or had the Dragon somehow taken her hostage? Had it already killed her then, and had simply just taken its prey with it into it cave to devour in peace? What kind of Dragon was it? Why had it taken Lucy to wherever they went? Why didn't Loke do anything? Had he just given up and resigned to fate? Or was it something else? Why was Lucy even in Saraj and this forest? Had she been on a mission, or just sightseeing? Why hadn't she told anyone in team Natsu about this? Was it because we kicked her off the team? Why had she gone off alone?

My head swirled with thoughts and I couldn't seem to find an end to them. The others didn't notice how I slowly fell further and further behind, they walked forward, chit-chatting irrelevant stuff, that didn't even have to do with the recently discovered 'scent of something familiar', cave, Dragon or the sudden disappearing of it all. No, they were talking about how to get home, Natsu complaining and the others convincing him that it was too far to walk.

Looking from the distance, as I was, it all seemed so shallow. They didn't reach down deep, all forgetting the fact that they had just found a _Dragon_, which were supposed to be gone, and a familiar scent with it. They walked through the forest, talking about something so irrelevant, that it almost pained me, while someone they cared for – as far as I knew anyway – may or may not have been abducted by a friggin' Dragon. How could they not recognize Lucy's scent in the first place? It was all so weird.

I looked at Lisanna, who walked close to Natsu. _Really_ close. Almost-rubbing-each-other-as-they-walked close. I slowly began to think that maybe, just _maybe_, it was a mistake to kick Lucy off Team Natsu, and accept Lisanna. _Maybe_ things would have been better with Lucy. Although I didn't know what would be better.

**Okay, so Gray didn't fully realize Lucy left the guild, however he **_**is**_** close to figuring it out. Don'cha think? **

**Also, I hope my history-lesson wasn't too much of a drag. I know it probably wasn't the most interesting part of this whole thing, but it was quite necessary to get the story out and all. Err, at least it was important. **

**Sooo yeah.. I don't know what else to say than; Have a good day guys! Thank you for reading, reviewing, following and favoriting! It is all much appreciated! **

**NO TRANSLATIONS TODAY! HUUUURAAAAYYYYYYY! **

**Thanks to Sabiiinou Valdez DiAngelo, Naeda Beasley, .744, Lucy KeymasterMage Heartfilia, Vincenziia, ultimate-owner, DuhKpopFreak, guest (Guest), pat (Guest), KimmyRose, jessipluto1983, Kurosaki Yukia, kerippi, MoonStar1312, sassycat712, CGpyro, mjb376, darkrith, , dakrlord71 and all you other readers for reading, favoriting, following and/or reviewing! You. Are. The. Best!**

**~Line464d**


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

**So… Not much happened since last week, except you guys being fantastic as always. Already over 160 followers – It still feels like the 100****th**** was just yesterday. You guys are amazing, honestly, there's just nothing more to say.**

**I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made! R&R!**

**Disclaimer: Slowpoke, as we all know him, still owns all of Fairy Tail**

**On the field, Dragon Realm**

**Lucys' P.O.V**

"Then he brought me to the guild Fairy Tail, which is a place where there's always messy. Everyone were fighting each other and destroying the guild hall as they fought. Honestly, I think either Natsu or Gray, Natsu's rival and an Ice mage, were the ones who destroyed the most. Anyway, soon they all went 'serious' and were about to use magic to win, but then Master Makarov came. He's the Guild master of Fairy Tail and one of the Ten Great Wizard Saints, which is the ten strongest mages in all of Fiore, he stopped them before anyone could get seriously injured, and I joined the guild." I explained with a bright smile. I had told the remaining Dragons, which would be everyone except Glanasile and Dravola, about the first day I met Natsu. Through it all, I'd kept brushing the place where my guild mark once sat with my other hand. It was somewhat nostalgic to talk about and remember that day.

Igneel and little Basuril were listening tentatively and with sparkly eyes. Metallicana and Sacheba smirked next to Simakan, who wore a bored expression. Grandine and Amelane laid down flat on their stomachs with equally soft and kind eyes. Skyadrum, who laid down like the other two females on her stomach, leaning into Weisslogia, who sat straight and seemingly didn't mind Skyadrum, both looking at me with their piercing eyes, each listening to everything I'd said. Silvia sat rigid and looked alternately at me with a hard stare and Acnologia with a soft smile. Did she hate me or something? Acnologia sat down, letting me sit on his foot, both so I could get just a little higher up in the air, and for some kind of comfort. Loke had left a little while ago, knowing the story quite well.

Even though this happened around 7 months ago, I still remembered it vividly, down to every last detail. I think that day was the happiest in my life, and probably the one which changed my life the most. After that came either yesterday or today, they obviously also changed my life violently much.

"**Heh, looks like my son is the reason you joined this 'Fairy Tail' and brought you many happy moments and adventures. I'm proud of him!**" Igneel said with pride in his voice. He's proud that his son wrecked almost a whole city and a big part of Fairy Tails' guild hall? I'll never get either of them.

I smiled at the big Dragon. "Yeah, he sure is." I said, although the memory of what had happened a few days ago flashed through my mind.

Acnologia muttered something under his breath, which even the Dragons couldn't hear. As I looked up at him, his eyes were fierce with some kind of determination and… something like hatred.

Simakan sighed. "**Well, that was an interesting story Lucy.**" He said slowly. "**But it's getting late and you and Acnologia will need to find that cave, or whatever it was.**" He said as he lazily rose to his feet.

The others watched him silently, then nodded in a silent agreement. Most of them anyway.

"**Aww, do we have to leave?**" Igneel whined with a childish pout.

Basuril nodded in agreement with the big Fire Dragon. "**Yeah~ I wanna stay with Ac-nii-chan!**" He said just as childishly and loud. He could get away with it though, he was only 8 after all, but Igneel.. That was another story. It was just disturbing somehow. How was it possible for two persons of so different age to have so similar personalities?

Skyadrum got up on her feet at the same time as Weisslogia, who looked at the two pouting Dragons. "**I think Lucy and Acnologia will need some time to rest, so they're ready for their training tomorrow.**" He told them a little sternly. He was right; we would probably need sleep for the upcoming day. Weisslogia looked at Acnologia and I, I'm not sure which of us though. "**Goodnight Lucy, Acnologia, I'll look forward to training with you.**" He nodded at both of us. I smiled in return and Acnologia nodded.

Skyadrum looked down at me with a surprisingly soft smile, that didn't quite seem to fit with her more fierce appearance. "**Goodnight Lucy, sweet dreams.**" She smiled and turned around to fly away with Weisslogia, completely forgetting Acnologia.

"Goodnight! See you later!" I yelled back while waving at them.

Simakan turned his back to Acnologia and I and looked over his shoulder – if you could call it that – at us. "**C'ya**." He plainly said and zapped away with his lightning like Laxus, without giving either of us time to reply. Ah well, that was just Simakan.

Silvia, looking rather annoyed, looked between Acnologia and I. Her eyes settled on me, she gave me a firm stare, which made me feel like I began to shrink. It felt like she was glaring at me. "**Goodnight Lucy.**" She at last said expressionlessly. I tried to seem friendly and smiled and nodded back, but she was already looking at Acnologia with a soft and motherly look in her eyes. "**Night Acnologia, sleep tight.**" She said with and almost high pitched voice, tilted her head a little and smiled. I narrowed my eyes at the silver Dragon who was my aunt. Something about her was off. Weren't an aunt supposed to be happy when she finally meets her long lost niece? Not that I knew much about family-love and all, I hadn't experienced much of it, but even so… This was a little weird from what I was told about aunts.

Acnologia smiled back at her nodded. "**Goodnight Silvia, you too.**" He replied. Silvia spread her wings and flew away without giving me a second glance.

Amelane sighed and took a step forward, she had a somewhat sad expression on her face. "**Never mind Silvia, Lucy. She's just… **_**Surprised**_** to meet you.**" She carefully said. I looked up at the blue Dragon. The expression in her purple eyes clearly told me we had to have a talk sometime.

I nodded and smiled carefully at the Dragon. "Right. Thank you Amelane, goodnight." I said, earning a smile from her.

She looked at me with her pretty, purple eyes. "**Goodnight, Lucy.**" She looked up at Acnologia, who wore a confused expression. I giggled in my mind, he'd seen we'd had a silent conversation, but didn't understand it. "**You too Acnologia.**" She smiled at him. He nodded in reply and she turned around and took off in the opposite direction of the forest.

I looked at the Fire Head Dragon and found him with an expression of pure sadness. I smiled at the Dragon, oh how he reminded me of a certain salmon-haired idiot. I got up from Acnologias' foot and walked up to the Fire Dragon and hugged his snout. He was lying on the ground with his head buried between his feet in a display of defeat, looking like a lost puppy while doing so. "Aww Igneel, I'll miss you too." I grinned and didn't release the big guy, just closed my eyes.

I felt Igneels' head move under my arms, and knew he was grinning as well. "**Oh, so you will miss me~?**" Igneel teased. I sweat dropped, that line was so similar with something Loke would say, it wasn't even funny.

But even then, I kept smiling. I released him from my hug and looked into his all too familiar onyx eyes. "Of course I will." I beamed at him.

He kept still for a second, then nodded with a wide smile. Even for him. He really was just like a kid. "**Alright Lucy, I'll see you in the morning~!**" He said childishly. What did he mean? I hadn't heard of anything like we'd meet up again in the morning. Eh, it was Igneel, so he could just have forgotten something. He got up from where he lay and looked down at me. "**Sleep tight!**" He turned his gaze to Acnologia and smiled widely at him too. "**Goodnight Acnologia, it was good to see you again!**" He said happily.

"Goodnight Igneel!" I replied quickly.

Acnologia nodded to Igneel. "**Yeah, you too. Say hi to Chylirobi from me, will you?**" He requested. Igneel nodded with a smile and flew away over the forest. I wondered who Chylirobi was, and what connection she and Acnologia had, but didn't ask. I didn't think my brain could handle any more information for the rest of this week.

"**Night Squirt.**" An unmistakable, gruff voice said.

I looked up at the Iron Dragon, who smirked down at me. I got slightly annoyed by my new nickname, but ignored it and smiled at him. "**Goodnight Metallicana, and the name's Lucy.**" I told him.

"**Right.**" He nodded. So would he stop now? "**Squirt.**" He added with a smirk, he knew it annoyed me. That Dragon…! Metallicana looked at Acnologia with a more serious expression, but still with a faint smirk. What was he planning to do? "**Brat.**" He said to get Acnologias' attention, even though it was quite unnecessary since we were all looking at him anyway. He lifted his foot and pointed down at me with one of his claws. I stared at the sharp claw before me in fright. Was he trying to kill me?! What he then said, was quite surprising. "**You better watch out for your mate here, or you'd risk losing your head.**" He smirked at the last part, referring to his own promise to me.

I felt my face heat up at the word 'mate' and glanced at Acnologia, to see him being flustered as well. "**A-ae (Yes) Metallicana, I will**" He stuttered. Metallicana laughed out loud, with Sacheba snickering next to him.

"**That's great Brat. Night.**" He laughed. Acnologia just nodded, apparently not interested in continuing the conversation any further, I could understand him, I didn't either.

Sacheba was still snickering lowly. "**Goodnight you two, sssee you later.**" He said in his slightly hissing way. Pushing away Metallicanas' earlier comment, I smiled at the Poison Dragon and waved him and Metallicana off.

"**Why does he always have to be like that?**" Acnologia muttered. I looked up at him. Why did who have to be like what? Who was he talking about? I shrugged lightly to myself, I'd find out sooner or later. I think.

Grandine got up from the ground and stood up, looking at Acnologia and me with her kind smile. "**Well, I better get going too then. Sleep well you two.**" She said.

"Goodnight Grandine." I said as Acnologia nodded. She smiled and flew away, graceful as ever.

I heard a sniff and looked at the last Dragon, Basuril. He was standing, head bowed down, and looked like he was about to cry. Jeez, what's with that? He'll probably see Acnologia tomorrow anyway. Yes, I knew it wasn't me he was crying for, it was obviously his 'Onii-chan'. But even so, he just looked so Kawaii! That expression was just _so_ adorable, I almost squealed at the little guy.

Basuril tilted his head a little up and looked at Acnologia with tearful eyes. "**C-can't I just s-sleep with you guys tonight Ac-nii-chan?**" He asked childishly, but extremely adorably. I choked down another squeal when Basuril looked at Acnologia with puppy-eyes. Even though I knew it wasn't genuine, that it was all just an act, I was just standing on the verge of running over to the little guy, pull him into a vice grip of a hug and yell 'yes' repeatedly.

However Acnologia had other plans. "**Káo (No), you're going home.**" He said plainly, clearly showing it wasn't up for discussion. Basurils' lower lip poked out and his eyes brimmed up with tears. I turned away so I didn't do something I'd regret later. Acnologia sighed and shook his head exasperatedly. "**Káo (No), Basuril-kun. You have to go home now.**" He said firmly.

I looked up at him in disbelief. Was he not affected by Basurils' cuteness? Had he become immune somehow? Then I saw a drop of sweat trailing down the side of his head. Alright, so he wasn't immune, he was in fact struggling to keep his cool.

Basuril dropped his act, and beamed at the two of us. "**Oh well, I guess it can't be helped then. I'll see you later!** **Goodnight!**" He smiled.

Acnologia and I dropped our jaws and our eyes popped out of our skulls. How could he change so suddenly? It wasn't natural!

I waved weakly at the little Dragon and Acnologia stared at him dumbfounded as he flew away. We stayed silent as he flew out of sight. "That's just not natural." I muttered silently. Acnologia nodded and we both stared at the direction Basuril had flown, for a pair of seconds in silence.

I broke off from my trance and noticed that the sun was about to disappear behind the trees, it had a weak, red color and its warm rays lit everything up in the same warm, red color. The water sparkled even more than it did before, reflecting the warm sunlight in many different shades of red and yellow. The grass, flowers and leaves on the trees had also adopted the many different shades of red and yellow. It all had a very warm feeling to it, but nonetheless beautiful. The sky was going from a warm red near the setting sun to a bluish purple color at the other end.

"Whoa…" I whispered for the second time that day. "Acnologia, have you seen this?" I asked without looking at him. I could see at the edge of my peripheral that at first he looked down at me, then followed my gaze to our surroundings. "Isn't it beautiful?" I asked.

I could see that he looked down at me again at the edge of my vision. "**More beautiful than anything I've ever seen.**" He said in a low voice and a lot of feeling put into it. I looked into his captivating eyes. I could see his dark scales give off a dark red color in the setting suns' rays. Why did he put so many feelings into those words? It was just a view, beautiful or not. Wait, did he actually mean – No! _That's_ not what he meant! There's no way _that_ could be what he meant. After all, we've only known each other for nine days, technically speaking. And that's way too short time to have developed… _That._ Way. Too. Short.

"**-cy. LUCY!**" I heard someone yell somewhere far away. It pulled me out of my confused thoughts. I blinked a pair of times and looked at the owner of the voice. "**I've been calling for you in some time, what were you doing?**" A big Dragonhead asked.

I shrieked and jumped back in shock, holding my hands to my chest, panting a little. "Oh dear Mavis, you shocked me Acnologia!" I panted.

Acnologia chuckled. "**Yeah, well you were spacing out so..**" He trailed off and shook his head. "**Anyway, let's go find that cave.**" He said.

I nodded. "Yeah, we better." I agreed looking at the Dragon sized forest on the other side of the Dragon sized river. My eyes fell on the glittery water. "Eh, Acnologia?" He turned his head in my direction. I pointed at the river. "How are we getting over that?" I asked.

He smiled down at me. "**Why, we are flying of course.**" He said as if it was obvious. I stared at him. How was I supposed to fly without wings? I gestured to my wingless back. Acnologia looked at me weirdly for a sec., then made an 'o' with his gigantic mouth. "**You'll just sit on my back like before.**" He smiled.

I nodded slowly. Didn't he realize how perverted that just sounded? "Alright. It'll probably also make it easier to find the cave." I said in agreement.

He grabbed gently me with his tail like earlier and put me up on his back. I went to my usual spot at his neck with a leg on either side of it. I had been sitting there a lot lately.

He spread his wings and took off smoothly. He slowly rose and as I looked down and around, the forest seemed to be human size. We flew slowly through the warm afternoon air, looking for that cave. "**Can you see it?**" Acnologia asked, while looking around for it himself.

"Hmm." I said and looked around as well. All I could see in that forest was trees, trees and more trees. Except right there, there was a little, or maybe a big, rock peeping up over the treetops. But that couldn't be it, after all Acnologia is taller than the trees – no, he's not. We were not on Earthland anymore; we were in the Dragon Realm. Where everything was Dragon sized. "Yeah, Acnologia, it's over there." I yelled over the wind and pointing at the rock, as it seemed to be from where I was.

Acnologia shook his head, as if trying to get something off and hovered in the air. "**It's not necessary to yell, I can hear you perfectly fine.**" He grunted.

"Eheh.." I laughed and scratched the back of my head. So he could hear me even in the raging wind, or in this case calm wind? Duly noted.

He looked back at me with one eye. "**So where was that cave?**" He asked. I pointed at the gray rock in the middle of the forest. His gaze followed my finger and noticed the gray stone. He nodded and slowly and carefully dove down through the treetops. He landed a few meter away and walked the rest of the way to the cave with me sitting on his back.

We stood in front of the cave, which towered up above both of us. It was much like the one in Earthland from the outside, except much bigger.

I gaped at the big cave. "Whoa, it's so big." I muttered. How many times had I done that today?

Acnologia nodded. "**Yeah, everything is this big here. I had almost forgotten myself, how big everything is in the Dragon Realm, I've gotten so used to Earthlands' sizes.**" He told me.

I looked at him. After his father was caught and everything he'd probably only been in the Dragon Realm a few times, one of the times was to be told he'd gotten his fathers' spot as the Chaos Head Dragon, and another to be told that he was responsible for bringing me back. And that was six years ago, since then I bet he's been in Earthland looking for me. That made me feel kind of guilty. He had not been allowed to see his friends and family in six years because of me. Well, unless there was some kind of meeting with all the Head Dragons, then he would have seen everyone a bit more often. That taken into consideration made me feel somewhat better, knowing that he probably met them all just a little bit more often.

Acnologia pulled me out of my thoughts when he walked further into the cave. Instead of the big nest there was in the cave in Earthland, the whole floor was covered in moss, giving a nice feeling to it. Almost heart-shaped leaves, still Dragon sized, crawled up the cave walls and ceiling, with the cave wall visible behind it. I briefly wondered if I could sit on one of those leaves without falling off.

Acnologia stopped up just as his two front feet stood in the moss and looked around at the cave. "**Well, this cave seems more comfortable than the other one.**" He mumbled to himself.

I nodded although I knew he couldn't see it. "Yeah, it seems really nice." I agreed.

He looked back at me with and amused smirk. "**Oh, so what you're saying is that the one I made in Earthland wasn't good enough for you, Miss Lucy?**" He asked, faking being insulted by my words.

I didn't catch it was an act though. "No, no, no! That's not what I meant! The one in Earthland is also good." I panicked.

He just laughed at me and shook his head in amusement. His laughter echoed through the cave and bounced from the walls.

I huffed and pouted in annoyance, having figured out it was fake. 'Miss Lucy'. Just like he called me back when we were small. It always pissed me off the way he said it, and he knew it. I'd always hated the life I had in the Heartfilia Mansion, even when Mama was there. I could bear it when she was there, but when she… I just couldn't take it anymore. I'd had more than enough. That's also why I hate when my Spirits called me those high-class names, but I guess it couldn't be helped.

I crossed my arms. "Would you just put me down already?**" **I said, putting as much annoyance in the words as I could. Actually all this was, was nostalgic, for now at least, it wasn't annoying at all.

He snickered and lay down, allowing me to get off. "**There you go. Miss Lucy.**" He teased. I looked at him with a deadly glare over my shoulder, to which he snickered again and I slid down his stomach, landing on my feet in the soft moss. The moss was like a big pile of Aries' fluffy wool, it was so soft it almost felt like one of the beds I used to sleep in, in the Heartfilia Mansion. Yes, there was more than one.

I stepped around in the moss and jumped on it, testing the moss out. "This is so soft." I said, completely forgetting to be annoyed.

"**Yeah, it really is.**" Acnologia said, also forgetting to call me 'Miss Lucy'. "**It is a special moss, which only grows in this forest, we call it Socubedo Moss.**" Acnologia said.

Socubedo? Was that some sort of smart name? "Why 'Socubedo'? What does it mean?" I asked, although I had gotten more than enough information just today.

"**Oh, that's just the name of this forest. It doesn't have any special meaning, really.**" He smiled. Well, that's quite simple. Socubedo Moss in the Socubedo forest. I nodded to tell him I understood.

Suddenly feeling tired, I turned around and fell down with my back to the moss and staring up at the barely visible ceiling. I sighed as I went through everything that had happened the last two days. It was really just two days. It was amazing, to be honest. Like, how many experienced all this in just two mere days? Let me tell you – no many.

"**I guess it's time to rest, judging by your tired sigh just now.**" Acnologia said, shuffling around a little.

I opened my eyes, which I had not realized I had closed and faced the ceiling once again. "Yeah well, I am quite tired; I've gotten an overload of information in the last two days. My brain is fried." I moaned, only now realizing just how tired I was.

Acnologia chuckled. "**Guess you have.**" His head appeared in front of me. I had a hard time focusing on him, my eyelids just seemed to weigh a ton. "**Stop fighting Miss Lucy, just go to sleep already.**" Was the last I heard before doing as I was told.

**Somewhere over the Socubedo forest, Dragon Realm – Next morning~**

**Igneels' P.O.V**

I was flying over the Socubedo forest with the sun starting to rise, and I was looking for Lucy and Acnologias' cave. I'd told them I'd meet them 'in the morning', and so I would. But that cave was just so damn hard to find.

"**What're you doing out here so early, Fire Idiot?**" Someone asked to my right.

I stopped up and hovered midair and turned my head to look at a big pile of rusty metal flying in my direction. "**I was looking for Acnologia and Lucys' cave.**" I told him. "**What about you, Scrap Metal?**" I asked annoyed.

Metallicana snorted. "**The same actually. I was going to see if that Brat's been killing her during the night.**" He explained plainly.

I narrowed my eyes at the flying piece of junk. "**Why do you care so much?**" I asked. He never cared about anything. Nothing at all. Not even Sacheba, who for some most unknown reason, always had adored him. There was only one person he cared for, that I knew of. Gajeel Redfox, his kid.

Metallicana looked at me with an unreadable expression in his eyes. "**I think you already know why.**" He said as he flapped his wings a little to keep still in the air. I already knew? What did I know? I didn't know why he would ever care for Lucy. I looked at him quizzically, which just made him snort and shake his head. He stayed silent for a while, looking down at the forest.

I was almost about to fly away, when I heard a barely audible whisper. "**Because she means something to **_**him**_**.**" He whispered and looked back up at me. 'Him'? Did he mean his son? "**I can just feel it. She means something to Gajeel, I just know she does.**" He said with a more clear voice.

I looked at the Iron Dragon with a faint pity. Of all of us Dragons with kids, he was the one Dragon it hurt the most when we left out children behind all those years ago. Gajeel was the first person Metallicana ever cared for, so it was a much bigger loss for him than anyone else to leave him behind. And we all knew. Every single one of the Head Dragons knew. He knew that we knew too. So far he'd been okay with it.

Now I also understood why Lucy suddenly was so important to him. It was because she was so important to Gajeel. Or at least, that's what he thought.

I nodded and we continued our search for their hideout in silence.

After a few minutes, we still hadn't found the cave.

"**Oi, Fire Butt, I think I found it.**" Scrap Metal announced victoriously. I looked at him and followed his gaze to a gray rock, which peeked over the treetops. That damn rock, why did it have to hide so well?

I nodded. "**Yep~! That would be it!**" I agreed with him. We exchanged quick glanced accompanied with smirks and slowly dove down into the forest. I managed to land somewhat silently, but Metallicana, being the big lump of rusty metal he was, made a lot of noise as he landed. I turned my head and glared at him. "**Oi, you piece of scrap! Can't you be silent for once?**" I hissed at him. We wouldn't want to wake the two up if they were sleeping.

Metallicana glared at me, but said nothing as he walked past me in the direction of the cave. I followed him, saying nothing, just walking in silence. Soon we stood in front of the cave- Low, stretched out breathing could be heard inside, indicating that they were fast asleep in there.

"**Well, let's go in and wake them up, shall we?**" The lump of rusty metal smirked.

I knew through experience that that guys' way to wake someone up in wasn't pleasant. Last time he honored me with his presence in the morning, he woke me up by grinding his two metal wings together. I was practically deaf the rest of the week. But even though I knew that, it was still funny when I wasn't the target. So we tip toed the best we could into the cave. Luckily the thick moss concealed the sound of our footsteps, so we didn't accidentally awaken them.

We didn't need to step any closer though, we could see the both of them fine and clear.

Lucy lay on her side, one arm under her head as a pillow and the other lay close to her chest. Her legs were pulled up as if she was freezing, one closer than the other. Her blonde hair fell elegantly behind her. She looked fragile as she lay there asleep. Like a defenseless twig you could just break with no effort whatsoever.

But the big Dragon made up for that. Acnologia lay on his stomach with his neck lying over one of his feet. He almost lay in a circle around his little blonde friend, with his tail circling around her from the bottom of her feet and over her head. His own face pointed out in the direction of the entrance of the cave, where Metallicana and I now stood.

He was the polar opposite of Lucy, if you looked at them now. While Lucy was a little, cute and defenseless girl, Acnologia was big, mean looking and dangerous. She was the little princess who was protected by the big, bad Dragon.

I smirked a little at the young Chaos Dragon. He'd already gotten quite protective of the young lady. Well it was no wonder really, they'd been apart for many years and now they were finally back together again. He was without a doubt afraid to lose her again.

That and also because he'd known since he was a little boy that the girl was supposed to be his mate. He never set an eye on any other girl.

Thinking back, I don't think I'd ever seen him with any other girl his age. Well except Chylirobi, but that was different. Chylirobis' father had always been quite strict and had already found the one she was supposed to mate when she was eight years old. However Chylirobi refused, saying she would find her own mate at the age of 12. And so she did. I had a hunch that maybe Chylirobi had had a little crush on Acnologia, but he never battered an eye at her. He knew who he was supposed to mate, and was committed to only that one person, which he hadn't even met then.

Realizing my thought had gone way off track, I returned to reality. I glanced at Metal Face at the edge of my vision. He looked down at the two with eyes I had never seen him use ever before. Soft and caring, fatherly eyes, but also mixed with some sort of negative emotion that I couldn't quite put my finger on.

As Grandine had reprimanded me not to do, I said nothing to ruin Metallicanas' moment, I just waited for him to snap out of it.

I looked back at Lucy. That girl did wonders around her, without herself being aware of it. She changed everyone a little for the better. I had never seen Scrap Metal smile a genuine smile since we all left our children. Glanasile and Dravola even, somehow, showed some feelings yesterday too and Simakan seemed somewhat attentive and even took the initiative to speak with her. Which neither of them had ever done before, as long as I remember. Skyadrum too, she was also out of her usual fierce self.

This girl did things to all of us that only Layla had ever been able to do. She was so much like her mother, appearance- as well as personality-wise.

And this was what my son so foolishly threw away. I've always known he was a little slow on the uptake and that he could be really dumb sometimes, but this was extraordinary for even him. Couldn't he see Lucys' shining personality? Didn't she also change him in some way or another? Was he really so blind?

Metallicana sighed next to me, drawing me attention, and turned around to walk away out of the cave. I watched him silently in a second, before doing the same, leaving the two youngsters sound asleep. I wondered why he did it in silence as I followed him out of the cave.

After some silence between the two of us, I couldn't keep quiet anymore. "**Why did you do it?**" I asked curiously.

He looked back at me with a bored expression. "**Do what?**" He simply asked.

I looked into his unnatural red eyes. "**Why did you let them sleep?**" I asked.

Metallicana snorted, turning his head away and resumed his walk into the forest. "**Because there was no way to get the Squirt out of the way. It was only Acnologia I was targeting.**" He sighed and shook his head. "**Besides, I'd catch Hell if I woke him up from his slumber **_**and**_** taking the Squirt from him.**" I tried to imagine what it would be like if Acnologia went on a rampage and shuddered. Although Acnologia was young and inexperienced, he was strong like his grandfather. And he had Dragon Slayer magic running through his veins too. The most vicious type of magic a human could possess and the most dangerous for Dragons. Although Acnologias' was very distinct and weak, it was still there.

I nodded. "**Yeah, you're probably right.**" I admitted even though it pained me.

Scrap Metal turned his head and looked at me with a glint of amusement in his eyes. "**Of course I am.**"

**The guild Fairy Tail, Earthland**

**Grays' P.O.V**

After having returned from the forest near Saraj and told the Mayor the monster had flown away, we went home to Magnolia without any reward.

Turned out that Saraj was in a serious shortage of money, so they would only give us what was necessary. And since the monster left by itself, before we could slay it, we hadn't actually completed our job. In his eyes. That sticky old bastard.

It wasn't a critical problem though, it wasn't like any of us was in need of money and Lucys' eternally problematic rent wasn't a problem anymore either.

Speaking of Lucy, I had had plans of visiting her the day after returning from Saraj late at night, but then in the way-too-early morning hours, Fire Brain broke into my cool and refreshing house and woke me up, while pushing the refreshing coolness away with his disgusting warmth. He told me that Master had something important to say and that I should hurry over there.

So here I was, in the guild hall, grumpy because I was woken up and because I hadn't got the chance to visit Lucys', waiting for the old geezer to show up and relay his message. I had already looked around in the guild and Lucy was nowhere in sight. As I has somewhat expected.

A door opened on the second floor and out came our dwarf of a Master in his white get-up with gold trimmings.

He cleared his throat to gain our attention. The guild went silent, everyone focusing on Master Makarov. The old man put a big smile on, but there was just something off with it, which told me it wasn't quite genuine. "Brats! It is time for the S-Class Exam! In just a month it will all begin on Tenrou Island, Fairy Tails' own island and our first Masters', Mavis Vermillion, resting place." He announced. How could I have forgotten the S-Class exam?! Had I really lost so much track of time because Lisanna had returned?

The whole guild erupted into cheers. Yes, even me. I pushed the thought of Lucy and my gloominess in the background and cheered with everyone. Maybe I would be chosen this time around?

Master Makarov cleared his throat again, this time to silence all of us. He held up a paper in front of him and adjusted it to his sight. "Alright, I've chosen eight of you, who I deem ready to become an S-Class mage." He told us, not the first time. "First off all, I've chosen Cana Alberona!" He announced.

Cana sat at the bar, drowning herself in sake with a gloomy aura around her. The whole guild cheered and congratulated her. How many times had she been chosen to the S-Class exam now? Four times, wasn't it? She'd failed every single one. I felt bad for her; she was always so unlucky with such things.

I turned back to Master as he continued. "I have chosen Freed Justine this year too!" He said.

Freed stood with a determined expression and a clenched fist held up high. "I'll make Laxus proud!" He announced while the whole guild went into another round of cheers.

"Levy Mcgarden!" Master continued.

Levy looked at him with an expression of shock. "M-me?" She stammered. Master smiled, genuinely this time, and nodded. Once again, the guild was filled with cheers.

Jet patted her friendly on the back with a wide smile. "You can do it Levy!" He reassured her.

Droy nodded. "Yeah, you're strong!" He agreed.

Levy looked alternately at the two, tears about to fall from her eyes. "T-thank you Jet, Droy!" She cried out.

Master continued, letting Team Shadowgear take care of Levy. "Lisanna Strauss!" Master announced.

I almost, keyword; almost, dropped my jaw at this. Lisanna? In my opinion Lisanna didn't seem all that strong. Not that I hated her or anything like that, but I just wondered if Gajeel or Juvia maybe would be a better choice. Besides, she only just returned from Edolas.

But that was Masters choice, and I wasn't one to go against him, so I just cheered for the youngest Strauss sibling.

Mira was flailing around her little sister, laughing, crying and squeezing the life out of the girl, with Elfman doing the very same thing. "It is manly to cry!" He stated with tears running down his cheeks, making most people sweat drop at his warped imagination of what a 'man' was.

Fire Breath also looked overjoyed by Masters decision, smiling from ear to ear and patting Lisannas' back repeatedly and a little too hard, looking like the moron he was.

"Elfman Strauss!" Master announced, giving up on silencing us all.

Elfman actually deserved it quite a lot, he'd mastered his Take Over: Beast Soul and had fought bravely countless times.

"It is manly to participate in the S-Class Exam!" He proudly stated. The whole guild sweat dropped at his comment – again – and continued our cheering for him too.

"Gray Fullbuster." Master said, looking down at me with a smile that seemed less genuine than the others he'd given.

I didn't care much though. I looked at the old geezer with a wide smile. "The time's finally come!" I said, locking my two hands, one with a clenched fist and the other covering it.

"Gray, your clothes!" Someone yelled somewhere in the crowd.

I looked down at myself, seeing that I only wore boxers. Again. I moaned. "How did that happen?" I asked out loud.

I began walking around the guild looking for my clothes, while getting my ears blown out by the cheers.

I felt a cool and hard metal-hand on my shoulder. I looked back into Erzas' brown eyes. "Congratulations Gray, you deserve it." She said with a little smile.

I looked dumbfounded at her. Did she just praise me? I collected myself and straightened my back. "Thank you Erza." I thanked her. She nodded and went away to wherever she was before. I continued looking for my lost clothes.

"Natsu Dragneel." Master said.

I sighed and put on my shirt, which I had found. So that moron's also a part of all this? I smirked. Well, that just gives me a better chance to show who's boss. Between the two of us anyways.

Fire Breath jumped up on a table and spouted flames from his mouth "ALRIIIIIGHT!" He yelled through the fire. What's that idiot doing? Trying to burn the whole guild to a crisp? He rose a fist engulfed in flames and sported a wide smile. "Yosh! I will beat you Ice Princess!" Natsu yelled and pointed at me.

I looked back at him with a smirk. "You're welcome to try Flame Brain." I told him, which only seemed to rile him up even more.

He made a motion as if to pull up his sleeves, except he didn't have any, and smirked at me. "Want me to show you Popsicle?" He asked.

I threw away my shirt in one single movement and almost expected a squeal from a certain Water mage, but much to my surprise, all that came out of her was some kind of snort as she levelled me up and down and turned away to drink some water. I stored that mystery away in a box in my mind for later inspection.

I focused on Fire Breath and got ready to fight. "I'm all fired up!" Natsu said his usual line.

The area between the two of us had been cleared completely. Except for one person, who stood tall in armor and a blue skirt, long scarlet hair and firm brown eyes. I felt sweat begin to form on my forehead. Shit! We're screwed. I glanced at Natsu, who also looked scared, although looking a lot dumber than me.

Erza pinched the bridge of her nose. She looked alternately at Fire Breath and I. "What did I say about FIGHTING?!" She yelled as she somehow appeared in front of both us at the same time. She knocked the hilt of her sword down in our head, making us fall to our knees with black dots appearing in my vision. Probably at his too.

I vaguely heard the conversation continue in some faraway place. "You can continue now Master." Erzas' voice said loud and clear.

"Thank you Erza." Master said. "And last, but not least, Mest Gryder!" Cheers filled the hall again, making the headache Erza gave me even worse. "Alright. Now you all have to find a partner and then go out and train the next month and get ready for the Exams. Before we leave, I'd like you all to show up here in the guild, also those of you who won't be participating." Master told all of us. I felt my vision clear and I could see everything vividly as I used to. "Oh, and could someone repeat this it Gray and Natsu? They need to hear it too."

I slowly rose to my feet and looked up at Master on the second floor. "I heard you perfectly fine." I looked at Natsu, who also slowly began getting on his feet. "And I'm sure that one did too." I said.

Master looked at both of us and nodded. "Alright then. Off you go~!" He smiled. I nodded and returned the smile.

Alright so now I had to find a partner. But who? I looked around at the other participants. Fire Breath pretty quickly found his partner in his flying Neko, Happy. For some reason Juvia decided to offer to team up with Lisanna. Even more unexpected, or maybe not, Elfman teamed up with Evergreen, who probably felt left out by her other two Raijinshuu members, who'd teamed up too. Gajeel 'stole' Levy from Jet and Droy, who were eager to team up with Levy and had ended up in a verbal fight, where Gajeel saw the opening to snatch Levy away from the two. That was quite bold Gajeel, even for you. I snickered at the Iron Dragon Slayer. Cana, who was still drowning herself in sake – even more than usual, might I add – teamed up with Carla, when she got the offer. Mest asked Wendy, unexpectedly.

Which left me all by myself. Loke had cut off our partnership for unknown reasons, Lucy wasn't in the guild. Maybe I should go check on her? She could be sick. I should go tell her about the S-Class exam, maybe she would want to team up with me? But then maybe she just wanted to be alone after what we told her. Or was she still on that mission with that monster? Had it kidnapped her with no chance for her to contact us?

I was cut out of my speculations when I felt a little paw on my arm. I looked down at Gajeels' recently adopted black Neko, with a scar over his one eye, which resembled a moon. "Are you looking for a partner Gray?" Pantherlily asked.

I sighed and nodded. "Yeah, Loke ditched me and Lucy's nowhere in sight." I told him. I felt him cringe when Lucy was mentioned, but brushed it off as invaluable information. "So I'm trying to figure out who I can ask." I continued.

Pantherlily smiled. "Well, I'd like to assist you in the Exam then. If you want me to, that is." He offered.

I looked at the cat in front of me and nodded with a smile. I was going to team up with the most overpowered Exceed I'd ever met! "Yes! Thank you Pantherlily!" I told him.

"That's a deal then." Pantherlily smiled.

**A little earlier~**

**Pantherlilys' P.O.V**

I looked around at the little group of people I'd been sitting with unusually much the last few days. Juvia, Wendy and Carla sat on one side of the table on a bench, Gajeel and I on the other. Master Makarov had just announced who would participate in the S-Class Exams, none of us had been nominated, which didn't surprise any of us, so we just sat silently with each other and watched the other guild members. We didn't have anything in particular to talk about, so the most entertaining thing to do was to watch the S-Class nominees struggle to find a partner.

I had a feeling that something big would happen in this Exam, something really big. But it was just a simple Exam. How much could happen in just a few days – Well, never mind that, a lot could happen. Lucy, for example, was kicked off her beloved team, left her nakama, met an old friend, which she, according to our assumptions, hadn't seen in a long time and he was incidentally a Dragon. Who knew what she was going through now?

I looked up at the people around me again. "I don't know about you guys, but I have a feeling that something will happen during this exam." I finally said, breaking the silence that had ruled between us. They looked at me silently.

Gajeel grunted, crossed his arms and tilted his head back, closing his eyes. "Yeah, I'm with'cha on that one; I've been feeling that way too." He grumbled loud enough for everyone to hear. I looked around at the others, who nodded when my gaze met theirs.

I nodded as well, mostly to myself. Looking around at the participants in the S-Class Exam, many of them still hadn't found their partners. "Alright, we have to participate then, some way or another." I said.

"How will Juvia participate in the S-Class Exam?" Juvia asked innocently and a little dumbly as well.

I looked into her water-blue eyes. "It is quite simple, really." I said. Gajeel tilted his head back to its normal spot and raised a studded eyebrow at me. "We simply become partners with the nominees." I explained matter-of-factly.

They all just looked at me with widened eyes. "Lily, I won't join those idiots until they realize their mistakes. Simple as that." Gajeel stated as the only one who hadn't widened his eyes.

Wendy looked up at her fellow Dragon Slayer. "Gajeel-kun…" She muttered.

I sighed, crossed my paws and looked up at Gajeel. "Do you have any better ideas then? Because if you do I'd like to hear it." I said. I knew I was a little harsh, but I also knew Gajeel wouldn't think much of it. Gajeel snorted, but didn't say anything. Okay, so that didn't reach him. "Also, didn't Master say something about there being battles?" I asked rhetorically. I knew Gajeel wouldn't be able to resist if there was fighting involved. Honestly, he was so simple.

Gajeel seemed to perk up at my reminder. He nodded with a slightly eager expression on his face. "Yeah. That's right." He looked down at me. "So who am I teaming up with?" He asked. "Please let it be someone weak, so I can fight more!" He grinned widely.

I sweat dropped at his usual antics and looked around. My eyes landed on Levy, who seemed problems with picking between Jet and Droy, who were about to fight – Okay, scratch that. Who were fighting already. I looked back at Gajeel. "Go team up with Levy." I told him. Levy would be the ideal choice for Gajeel. There was no way she could refuse him, I had noticed the spark between the two and I personally liked Levy a lot. Not just because she always feeds me those delicious, juicy kiwis'. And she also fulfilled Gajeels' request; she wasn't the strongest fighter around here, but she was probably the one with the strongest brain.

Gajeel looked at the bluenette in distress and then back at me with a satisfied smirk. "Gihi. Good choice Lily." He praised me and patted my head. He got up from his seat and stalked over to Team Shadowgear.

I turned back to the remaining three people. One down, four to go. "Juvia you can go ask…" I looked through the guild members again. She would probably not go with Gray just at the moment. If she went with Cana, she'd just soak her cards and render them useless. She wouldn't go over well with Mest either. So there was only… I looked at the white haired Take Over mage. "Juvia, I'm afraid you'll have to go with Lisanna." I apologized.

Juvia looked at me with determination shining in her eyes. "Juvia will do what is necessary for her to do." She told me.

I sweat dropped. Why did they all have to have so outrageous personalities? "Yeah, that's good Juvia." I praised her as she went to Lisanna, who was still being choked by her big sister.

I looked at Wendy. Alright, who's Wendy going to team up with? I looked at Gray, who seemed to be sulking as well as Cana, then I looked at Mest, who was walking in our direction. I decided to wait and see what the man was about to do.

Mest stopped next to our table. "Wendy Marvell, The Sky Sorceress, am I right?" He asked, still only looked at the Sky Dragon Slayer.

I looked at the grown man. Something was off with him. Even if he was a part of the Fairy Tail guild, the way he said Wendys' nickname somehow irritated me. It was like he knew more than he let us know.

Wendy also seemed to be baffled by his question. "Uh-uhm yeah. That's m-me." She stuttered timidly.

The man smiled a somewhat friendly smile at her, which gave me the creeps. "I'm Mest Gryder, Mystogans' apprentice and I'd like you to accompany me in the S-Class exam. If you'd like to of course." He said.

I narrowed my eyes at him. The Princes' apprentice? I could hardly imagine Jellal having an apprentice. It all just seemed like a façade. I couldn't remember seeing him in the guild before, but somehow I just knew he was a part of Fairy Tail.

"M-me?" Wendy asked. Mest nodded. "But I'm no good at fighting." She insisted. Yeah, from what I'd gathered, that seemed to be true. She just wasn't the fighting type.

"Oh, I know fighting isn't your strong point." He told us. It really nagged me the way he said it. "It's your Support Magic I was interested in." He explained. That made sense, I admitted to myself. The Support Magic I had seen this little girl use in Edolas was something.

Wendy nodded slowly and glanced at me, she wanted me to decide whether she should go with him or not. I nodded, it was probably the only way to go around getting all of us to Tenrou Island.

Wendy looked back at Mest. "I'd like to assist you in the Exam then." She answered. Mest smiled and offered her a hand to help her up from the bench. She took it and followed him, waving at Carla and me as she walked away.

"Now don't be a burden to Mest, Wendy. It's not ladylike to pull others down." Carla called after Wendy as the girl left the guild with Mest.

Wendy nodded just as they disappeared behind the doors.

I looked at Carla who looked at me. "So who do you prefer? Cana or Gray?" I asked, gesturing to the two gloomy figures. I was already pretty sure who she'd choose and if I had to be honest, I'd rather the same thing. However, being the gentlecat I was, I let the woman have first choice.

"I'd rather go with Cana." Carla said matter-of-factly. I nodded. I'd expected her to choose Cana. Gray was of the group who chased Lucy out of the guild, to have a near-death experience. Indirectly or not.

I spread out my wings. "Alright, I'll go ask Gray then." I said as I flew in the gloomy Ice mages' direction.

I'd drawn the short straw, eh? Well, that's better than missing an exciting adventure.

With that in mind, I landed in front of Gray.

**So what did you think? Good/bad?**

**I know Juvias' water most likely wouldn't affect Canas' cards at all, but for some reason, I just felt like I should write that. So I did.**

**And there was a little AcLu moment too – I decided to go with the normal pairing name – and you got some of the background history on Metallicana. **

**Since I don't know what else to do, I'm just going to end that A/N off here.**

**Thank you Meadow Melody, sexy1571, black eyes of silence, mjb376, EternalTearsoftheSky, Dawn126, Little Indian Girl, guest (Guest), Sabiiiinou Valdez DiAngelo, Feistyredhead21, tarini, LucyXHeartfiliaXFan, , Vy787, xoulblade, fairyfreak12, Namikaze Uzumaki, satirecondescension, clumzybeans, BloodyAsylum, Deadly8rose123, La Yuyake Familia, Kitty2013, xLunarHeartx, Lilitraum, TrueChildOfTheOlympians, Silvermanda282, FtaddictForevs (Guest), WCDragonS. , allyKatally, Flower Dragon Slayer, Thi Lou, IsYouMadOrNah, SilverGhost (Guest), Guest and all you other readers for reading, following, favoriting and reviewing! Look at all these PEOPLE. You are b-e-a-utiful guys! **

**~Line464d**


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

**Okay, so this is for having reached the 100****th**** reviewer! Gigantic thank you to all of you! And then another round to FearMyLaserFace, who was number 100! Yaaaaaaaaaay!**

**Hope you find it satisfying~**

**I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made! R&R!**

**Disclaimer: Slowpoke keeps Fairy Tail for himself.**

**On the Field, Dragon Realm – First Day of Training**

**Lucys' P.O.V**

"Okay Lucy-sama, take a deep breath and feel the nature around you." Capricorn said. It was in the middle of the day, and we'd been at it since I woke up. I'd made a contract with him in the early morning hours before Acnologia woke up. Apparently, according to what Natsu told me once, contracts were a drag to watch being made. So I spared Acnologia the pain.

Capricorn was really good at things like meditation and whatnot, so he helped me to try to find the Dragon powers I had in me.

Capricorn, which surprised me the most when I called him out, was a hybrid between a goat and a human. He was extremely tall, if you asked me anyway, and was covered in goat-like fur. He had a pair of horns, which curled around his ears and pointed out. He had a little goatee, ironically enough, and wore black tinted sunglasses. He wore a suit, worn like it should, instead of the loose way Loke preferred.

Cut Capricorn didn't do it all alone; the Second in Command of the Peace Clan helped him out. His name was Alodiculis Mau'Te Rongo. I'd been told that everyone, not only the Head Dragons, had the same last name in each Clan. That was somewhat convenient I guess.

Alodiculis, like Silvia, was a silver Dragon. He was a lot bigger though and where Silvia was long and slender, feminine also, he was more gruff and seemed more muscular too. He didn't have quite as long a neck as Silvia either. His wings seemed like bird wings, but without the feathers. Instead of the soft ends the feathers would have given, they were a little spikey in the ends. For a change, he didn't have any horns or anything else to decorate his face. That was if you just glanced at him, when you looked closer, you could see the two small remaining stubs of two once mighty horns. His scales down the back of his neck, back and tail stuck a little out over each other, as if he wore armor. He just didn't, his scales were apparently naturally like that. His two eyes were a warm amber color.

For some reason Silvia was too 'busy' and just sent her SIC, as the others called the Second in Commands. I had a nagging feeling that Silvia really didn't like me, and sent Alodiculis in her stead. Not that I minded, I liked Alodiculis. But it still bothered me why she would hold such hostility towards me. I hoped that what Amelane would tell me would explain all this.

"**Lucy! Focus!**" Alodiculis' deep voice broke through my trance. Although, as far as I knew anyway, Alodiculis could be a little harsh with his words, he was really nice.

"Right." I answered. Glanasile and Dravola hadn't really gotten a plan done regarding my training with my Dragon powers, so for now I was just looking for them with Alodiculis and Capricorn, and when I found them Alodiculis and some of the Head Dragons would help me train them. After that I had close combat training with Loke, who I knew would love to help me. At last I had some training with the Spirit King, I wasn't quite sure exactly what I was supposed to do during his training, but I knew it would be about Celestial magic, that much was obvious.

So the plan was that I'd get up early in the morning and meditate with Alodiculis to find my Dragon powers. Around 10 Am, I would change to hand-to-hand combat with Loke, my combat Spirit who new practically everything about close combat. I think there was some talk about Metallicana wanting to help as well. At 1 Pm I'd train my Celestial magic with the Spirit King. Still clueless as to what we were going to do. Then at 5 Pm I would continue with Alodiculis and Capricorn again and go to sleep around 8 Pm, so I would be ready for the next day where I'd wake up early and start it all over.

While I did all this, Acnologia went somewhere with his SIC, who I had yet to meet, and trained with him, or the other Head Dragons, which were under his elements. Whenever he gained access to the other elements he possessed besides Chaos, he'd train with the Head Dragon with the same element. Apparently only the Head Dragons of the Peace and Chaos Clans learned the other elements, because they shouldn't be too superior to the other Clans. Acnologia basically just had to meditate to find his Dragon powers, I think, and then he'd train with them and… Well, I wasn't exactly sure what he was going to do while I was training, but I knew he was doing something too.

"**Lucy you're not concentrating.**" Alodiculis sighed. I really wasn't, was I?

"Sorry Alodiculis, I'll focus now." I said, took a deep breath and exhaled.

I listened to the sound of the birds I hadn't noticed the other day chirping, the sound of the water rippling in the river, the sound of the wind rustling the leaves in the Socubedo forest and the grass around me, the sound of myself breathing and my heart beating in a steady rhythm and the small noises Capricorn and Alodiculis made when they changed their position. Without even trying, I heard them inhaling and exhaling rhythmically.

I felt the soft grass I was sitting on with my bare skin, I felt the gentle breeze playing with my hair and brushing past my bare skin and through my somewhat thin clothes, I felt the feeling of my lungs expanding and retracting with every breath, with the matching rhythm of my heart beating in my chest and I felt the presence of my two teachers nearby.

I let the scents of the nature of my surroundings, the grass I was sitting on, the flowers all around me, the forest, its trees and brushes, the scent of the wind carrying the scents of the people, slash Dragons, slash goat, around me, mixed with my own vanilla and strawberries scent wash over me in a rush of smells.

I relaxed all my muscles and went deep into my subconscious, looking for my hidden powers. Everything was dark for me, completely black as if the blackness had swallowed all the light and all there was left was this dark hole. Until a golden star popped up. It was big, much bigger than me, even when it was a little at a distance. It shone with a golden and warm light. It lit up the blackness with its golden light.

I stepped closer to the big star and felt a warm familiarity rush over me. The same familiar rush I got whenever I summoned one of my Spirits. Somehow I could feel all my Spirit friend on the other side of the star, beckoning for me to go through the golden light of the star.

Should I go through it? What would happen if I did? Was it dangerous? But it couldn't be, they were my friends and I loved all of them with all my heart. They couldn't be dangerous, except maybe Aquarius. No, not even her. But, if I entered this star, would I lose my Dragon powers? I wouldn't want to do that, not when I just discovered them. But if I refused to go through this star, would I lose my Celestial powers? I wouldn't want that either. Actually, that would be worse. I would lose all my friends if I lost my Celestial powers!

I heard a soft mumble of a voice far, _far_ away. It called out again, this time a little louder, but not loud enough for me to hear.

"…U…Y…" It said again. I tried to listen harder, and this time I heard it. "Lucy." Alodiculis' deep voice rung through my mind. "Open your eyes Lucy; you've done enough for now." He said, somehow his voice seemed different from before. More… Human, I'd say.

I did as I was told and opened my eyes, looking into a pair of warm, amber eyes of a young man. He had a dark color of silver hair that sat in a loose ponytail, falling down over his shoulder. He wore a white tank-top and sand-colored shorts which reached his knees, both form-fitting. Between the two pieces of clothing, there were a silver, silk sash-like fabric, it was basically just a piece of silver silk he had put around his waist instead of a belt. Except it wasn't meant to keep his pants up. He wore nothing on his feet. He was, to say the least, really handsome. He was quite muscular, which he freely showed off, and had a near-perfect form. The young man had a hand on my shoulder, as if he had woken me from a deep sleep. I guess in some ways he had.

I couldn't believe my eyes. "A-Alodiculis?" I carefully asked, not wanting to make the man feel insulted if I was wrong. Could this handsome, young man really be the big and experienced Dragon that stood before me just a while ago?

The young man got a relieved expression on his face when I spoke and removed the hand he had on my shoulder, straightening his back as he did so. "Ah, good you're okay." The man said with Alodiculis' voice, although not as deep and echoing as a Dragon. So this was really Alodiculis? What did he mean with that anyway? Of course I'm okay. What could have happened anyway?

"Yeah, I'm okay. What happened?" I asked him, wondering how he could be so young. He only looked like he was about 25 years old, yet that really wasn't the age I'd estimated him to be.

He looked at me with a serious expression. "You were floating in the air with a golden light surrounding you." Alodiculis explained. "It was like nothing I'd ever seen." He added, looking slightly bewildered. "It wasn't like when Layla found her elements or worked with them, if she used her Dragon powers, she would glow a faint silver light if at all. You almost lit up the whole area." He told me.

One thing he said stuck in my mind, and the rest was forgotten. "Have you helped my mother discover her elements too?" I asked.

"Ae (Yes), she was a natural. It was like second nature to her." He said. Wasn't it in reality a second nature to us? Even more importantly, how old was Alodiculis?

I decided to ask just that. "Just how old are you?" I muttered, looking at the ground.

Alodiculis broke into a deep laughter. "Just turned 272." He smiled.

My head shot up and I looked at him, trying to figure out how he could be 272 and still look so good. "Wh-Whaa?! 272! How? You only look like you're 25." I blurted out, and immediately felt embarrassed after saying it.

He simply smiled at me. "I thought you already knew." He said. Yes, obviously you did. "We Dragons age to around 25 Earthland years, then we don't age physically to the age of around 450 Earthland years, then we change back to aging normally, which is in Earthland years, again physically." Alodiculis explained.

I looked at him with wide eyes. "R-really? How old is Acnologia then?" I asked. Could Acnologia be over 300 years old?

Alodiculis looked at me with knowing eyes, as if he knew more than I did. I didn't like that look. "Well, he's only 21, so you can calm down." He said with amusement shining in his eyes. I sighed in relief and nodded. How would I be able to handle it if he was older than Mas – Makarov? "Well, not that's over and done with, what did you see?" Alodiculis asked.

"Huh?" I asked dumbly. What was he talking about?

He sighed in exasperation. "What did you see when you meditated, Lucy?" He repeated.

Aah, now everything made much more sense. "Oh, I started out in complete blackness-" I glanced up at Alodiculis, who nodded for me to continue. "Then a golden star appeared. When I stepped closer to it, it felt like the rush I get whenever I call out my Spirits. I also heard their voices, telling me to go through the star, but I didn't do it. Do you know what all this means?" I asked the man in front of me.

He nodded and sat down on the ground in front of me. "Ae (Yes). That star was your Celestial powers. I think the Spirit King will work with this and probably knows a lot more about it too. I believe that you can train your Celestial magic if you enter, but again, you'll need the Spirit King for more information. Your Dragon powers will be a little like this, you'll know when you see it." He explained.

I furrowed my eyebrows. "Can't you describe what it looks like?" I asked as politely as I could.

He shook his head. "Káo (No), it's different from person to person." He said. "I can tell you how mine looks though." I nodded. Maybe it could help me recognize how mine would look. "For me, when I enter the darkness, just like you-" He nodded his head in my direction, gesturing to me. "A glowing silver shield appears. At first, when I was a little boy, the image wasn't as strong, but over time, as I got older and got more experienced with using my magic, the shield gradually began to glow in a stronger light." Alodiculis explained.

I nodded, that seemed about right I guess. "Okay…" I trailed off. "When do you think my powers will appear?" I asked, looking into his amber eyes

He shrugged a little. "It's hard to tell. As far as I am aware, they can emerge at any given moment." He told me. "But it is not time for that now, you training with Capricorn and I has ended. You should call out Loke for close combat training." Alodiculis said.

Speaking of Capricorn… I looked around me and didn't see the goat-man anywhere. "Where is Capricorn?" I asked.

Alodiculis sweat dropped. "You're really slow, aren't you?" He asked rhetorically. I looked at him for answers. "Capricorn went to the Spirit World all out of nowhere when you began glowing." He explained.

I made an 'o' with my mouth and nodded understandingly. "Oh. Thank you Alodiculis." I smiled at him as he surrounded himself in a silver glow and transformed back to a Dragon. "See you later!" I yelled after him as he flew away, giving me a nod as reply.

Alright, so close combat it is. I looked through my keys and found the key I was looking for. "Open the Gate of the Lion! Leo!" I yelled and out of the usual light came my Lion Spirit.

He pushed his glasses up with two fingers. "Your knight in shining armor has appeared Princess." He smirked.

**Around three hours later ~**

**Lucys' P.O.V**

I tried blocking the punch that came flying in from my right, but it was already too late as it flowed past my defenses and connected with my gut. I coughed out saliva with the impact with my two arms over my stomach and fell to my knees. Why was I so weak?

Loke pulled his fist back with a frown on his face. "Why didn't I notice this grand weakness of yours and trained it? I'm not even using a quarter of my full power and every single hit has landed." He said.

I looked up at him, and, although I hated to admit it, I was a little frightened. He hadn't even used a quarter of his full power. Just how weak was I?

Loke looked me from to up to down and back again. He sighed and pushed his glasses up with two fingers. "You look all bruised and battered too." He told me.

I looked down at myself. It couldn't be that bad, could it?

Oh, how it could. I didn't think I had ever looked so beat, it really was bad. My skin was blue almost everywhere I looked, and if not, there were small scratches to cover that up. I'd gotten those every time I fell to the ground, I guessed. My clothes were torn, especially in the ends, and there were a big hole in the middle of my shirt, in the stomach-region.

Okay, maybe I exaggerated a little, but I really didn't look good, and my muscles screamed for me to stop and lie down without moving the rest of the week. How could simple hand-to-hand combat do all that? Yeah sure, we'd been fighting – no scratch that – Loke had utterly and completely beat me up in the last three hours, but even so.. How could I be so beat up?

I nodded, panting heavily. "Yeah… I guess…. I am…" I said in between pants.

He looked down at me with worried eyes as I tried to straighten my back, but couldn't and was about to fall to the ground, when he caught me before I fell. I winced and closed my eyes in pain, trying to keep my face neutral, as he pressed his hand into my hip to steady me. Loke threw my weak arm over his shoulder just as my legs turned to jelly.

He pulled me and himself up so he stood straight, while I had my back somewhat bowed. "Shall I take care of you, my Princess?" He asked with an amused smirk in his voice.

Before I could say anything flaps of mighty wings were heard somewhere not too far away. I opened one eye and looked in the direction of the noise.

Grandine landed perfectly a few meters away and walked toward us. What perfect timing. "**I don't think Acnologia would be happy with that.**" She said, sending knowing eyes to Loke. I was too tired to try and figure out what she was hinting at, I just moaned in exhaustion and pain as an answer and closed my heavy eyes again. "**Loke, please get her on the ground.**" Grandine ordered. Loke did as told and gently put me down on the ground. As soon as my back touched the ground, I whimpered again. "**Careful!**" Grandine snapped at Loke.

I felt a wind rush by and soon after, a delicate hand gently pushing and touching different part of my injured body. I tried not to say anything, but it just hurt so much! In the end, I either moaned, whimpered or made other pitiful noises whenever those fingers, which I guessed was Grandines', touched me.

After some time of pressing and touching the finger were removed from my aching form. "How could she get this beat up?" Grandine asked. I felt a rush of peace and relaxation surge through my muscles and my breath evened out.

"I don't know." Loke sighed. Well of course he did. He was the one who put me in this condition after all. Or had he forgotten? "But it clearly shows we have to work on it. I've gotten somewhat of an idea as to which parts needs most work." He said.

I felt the pain leaving my muscles slowly. "So which parts are these?" Grandine asked. There's more than one?

Loke sighed again. He'd done that a lot, hadn't he? "Everything." He simply said.

Everything? Wasn't there even _something_ that was average? Well, on the other hand, I never really practiced close combat either, so it wasn't too big of a shock.

Grandine sighed. Her too? "I figured as much." What? Wow, thanks for your faith in me guys. "Layla wasn't the greatest at hand-to-hand combat either." She continued. Did this weakness lie in the genes then? I opened my eyes and looked directly up at the blue, cloudless sky.

"Well, we'll have to change that." Loke said.

I turned my blurred sight to the closest face. It was a lady with light blue, almost white, long hair which was set in a middle-high ponytail, with a braid going from her sides, just above her ears and back to the ponytail, where they worked as a kind of hair band. She had the most beautiful face I'd ever seen, a small, delicate nose, not too small, and two a little small, perfectly fitting ears on each side of her head, nice and delicate lips and two big, light blue eyes. From then on I couldn't see more of the woman, my sight was simply too blurred.

She didn't look at me, but at something on the other side of me. "Ae (Yes), we really do." She agreed with her beautiful, clinging voice. So the one she was looking at was probably Loke and this beautiful lady surely was Grandine. She looked down at my bruised body, where her delicate hands hovered over my stomach, her hands engulfed in a faint blue-green light, instead of looking into my eyes. Maybe she hadn't realized I had opened my eyes. "_He_ sure wouldn't like this." Grandine muttered loud enough for everyone to hear. She looked up at Loke again. "Try to be a little more gentle with her, will you?" She asked.

I heard clothes rustle to my right, but my neck hurt too much for me to turn my head in the direction of the sounds. "It's the only way to go about it, really. It's how she learns it the best and gains experience as well as skill, which is exactly what she needs." Loke explained. I agreed with my Spirit, it really was what I needed.

I coughed, gaining their attention quite efficiently. "It… Really is… the only way." I said with a dry throat and a low voice.

Grandine looked at me with concern shining in her beautiful, sky blue eyes. "Are you sure Lucy?" I nodded weakly. "If it's what you want, then I won't stop you." She slowly said, briefly glancing at her hand, which calmly pulsed in the light blue-green light. And then back at me again. "Are you okay Lucy?" She asked, concern lacing her voice.

I nodded. My head cleared up and I felt no pain whatsoever, my sight was clear again too. I smiled at the beautiful lady. "Yeah, I'm fine." I answered her.

She smiled down at me. "Good, I'm almost done too." She said. I sighed in relief. Shortly after, she straightened her back and moved her hands away. "Done." She smiled.

I got up in a sitting position with Lokes' hand on my back to help me. Sometime along the way, during Grandines' and my conversation, he'd moved over to us and sat on his legs next to me.

I smiled to my Spirit as a 'thank you' and moved a little around with my arms and legs. I felt nothing. I looked at Grandine with a wide smile. "All's perfect!" I said.

Grandine winked at me. "Well, what did you expect? I am the Sky Clans' Head Dragon after all." She said.

I nodded. "I expected it to be nothing short of perfect, I'm used to Wendy after all." I said.

"I guess you are." She said and got up on her feet, brushing away non-existent dirt. She wore a white dress which sat tight at the top, showing off her big chest and soft curves just like it should, it loosened at the hip and fell in layers of sky blue and white fabric. It reached down just above her knees. The thin spaghetti-straps, which held the dress in place, were small, white feathers, much like those that went down her back and her wings when she was in her Dragon form. Quite surprisingly, she was barefoot, which didn't quite fit the dress, if you thought about it, but when Grandine wore it, it really didn't matter. She could wear anything. She looked back down at us. "I'll head off back to my Clan. Originally I only came to see how you had progressed, not to save you from that Lions' claws." She said.

Loke looked at Grandine with a hard glare. "It wasn't my intention to seriously hurt her, which I didn't, and you know that." He stated calmly. I turned my head to my orange haired friend. What did he mean 'didn't want to seriously hurt her and I didn't'-crap? If he didn't hurt me just then, what did he?

I thought back on the many battles I'd been through. Maybe he meant 'serious injuries' as in 'broken bones'. If that was the case, he truly didn't seriously hurt me. He'd only scratched me then. Which meant that I was even weaker in close combat than I first thought. Well, wasn't that just great?

Grandine looked down at Loke with soft eyes. "Ae (Yes) I know Loke. I can feel that you, not only because you're her Spirit, but also at a personal level, take pride in protecting Lucy. I know you'd do anything to keep her safe, I can see it in your eyes and the way you act around her. Make no mistake in that." Grandine told him.

Say what? She could read all that just by watching him? What an observant eye she possessed.

Neither Loke nor I said anything as a whirlwind surrounded the woman and she turned into a Dragon. She looked back at Loke again. "**And that's exactly why you must consider if there's another way to go about this.**" She said and flew away.

A bright golden light appeared in front of Loke and me before we could do or say anything. The golden light was similar to the light that appeared every time I summoned a Spirit, except much stronger.

I remembered seeing this light sometime long ago. Moustache-Man, it could really only be him. And right as I was, the Spirit King appeared in front of us in all his might.

He looked down at the two of us and smiled. "**Hrm… What's all this?**" He fell unceremoniously to his butt and sat with his legs crossed. He looked at me and smiled. "**Are you ready for your training Lucy, Master of Leo, my old friend, and many other Spirits?**" He asked.

I looked up at the big guy, moping at the sheer size of him. I'd completely forgotten just _how_ big he was. I collected myself and nodded. "Yeah, I'm ready." I said.

He smiled again, this time with closed eyes, like some kind of old grandfather. "**Ah, that's good.**" He opened his eyes and the smile dropped. With a thoughtful look, he played with his long and weird beard. "**Where to start..?**" He mumbled to himself. "**Hrm… Well, I'll start with telling you what this training is and what it'll do.**" He ended off.

Wouldn't it all make me stronger? Wasn't that what all this was supposed to result with? I nodded, urging him to continue. I was curious as to what I was going to do with my Celestial magic training.

"**We'll work with your summoning technique, the one you're using right now simply uses too much magic.**" He stated.

I looked up at him with a stunned expression. "There's another way to open Spirit Gates?" I asked. "I only ever thought there was one way." I said. I'd never heard another way to open a Spirit Gate.

Moustache-Man nodded. "**Yes, there's another way to summon your Spirits that costs way less magic.**" He began lost in thought for a moment. "**In the last 100 years, only one person has discovered this other way.**" He looked down at me with a knowing look. "**You know her actually.**" He told me. I knew her? Could it be my Mama? "**It was Angel from Oración Seis, I'm sure you remember her.**"

I sure did. She was the one who taught me the relationships between Spirits and the one I got Gemini, Aries and Scorpio from. She also was the only other Celestial mage I had ever met so far. If you didn't count my Mama. I nodded. "Yeah, I remember her."

"**She could call out two Spirits at the same time, because she used this technique. If she didn't, she would only be able to call one out, just like you.**" The Spirit King explained. I remembered how surprised I'd been when I saw her call out Caelum and Gemini at the same time. "**So we'll teach you to do it that way. Then, which Angel never discovered, we'll also teach you how to call out your Spirits without incantation.**" He said as if it wasn't too shocking.

"Wh-Whaa?! Can you even do that? Isn't it supposed to be _extremely_ hard? Like, using-your-whole-life-on-it-hard?" I asked rapidly one after another. And how could he say it so calmly?

Moustache-Man smirked. "**I never said anything about my training being easy.**" He began playing with his oversized moustache again. Seriously, why did he do that? "**Also, you have a lot more magical power because you're a Dragon-**" Obviously he'd know that too. "**So it'll be easier and faster to teach you than any other ordinary human.**" Well that made sense, I guessed. A Dragon, a _magical_ creature, would naturally have more magic than a non-magical creature like an ordinary human. Then there are those in between, the mages, but they are something in between.

Moustache-Man clasped his hands together and looked expectantly at me. "**Well, let's get started then!**" He said. I nodded and was about to stand up. "**No, just remain sitting. During our training, at least today, you'll be meditating.**" Again? "**I heard from Capricorn, who heard from Alodiculis, that you've discovered you Celestial powers in the black abyss. I also heard that you didn't enter it. That's good, because you'll enter it now. You'll know what to do in there once you enter. It'll be hard, but I'm sure you can do it.**" He said secretively.

I raised my eyebrow at him and looked at him incredulously. How would I know I wouldn't be losing my Dragon powers if I did that? Also, why did he have to be so secretive? It made me feel like I couldn't trust him, which was ridiculous.

"He's right, you know." Loke said, sitting on the ground next to me. "I know you'll pull through." He smiled. "And if you fall, I'll catch you~!" He reassured me.

I sweat dropped. "Please don't." I turned back to the Spirit King without waiting for a response from Loke. "Should I just start?" I asked the big guy.

He nodded. "**Yeah, you can start whenever you feel ready.**" He said.

I gave him a nod, straightened my back, crossed my legs and closed my eyes. I let my senses be overpowered by the nature, and, faster than before, I found myself surrounded by the blackness. It was just as black as it was before; it was like it swallowed all the light around, just like a black hole.

The bright, golden star began glowing brightly a little to my left. It shone so bright it lit up the darkness around it, much like it did before.

I stepped closer to the star and felt the familiar rush of my Spirits. I stepped closer, feeling the pull of the star, so I stood a few feet away from the star. I heard the gentle voices of my Spirits calling to me, saying I should enter the star. Except Aquarius, she was screaming at me.

"You little bitch! Get over here already!" Her voice cut sharply through the others'. I sweat dropped at the usual antics of my Mermaid Spirit. Yearp, that was Aquarius alright.

I walked up to the star so I stood right in front of it. It towered up high over me and bathed me in its golden light. I felt a strong urge to enter. It wouldn't cancel out my Dragon powers. If it did, the Spirit King probably wouldn't have sent me in here without telling me at least. Alodiculis never said anything about it either, so it couldn't be too bad, could it?

I took a step forward and let the golden light engulf me. It felt nice and familiar, as if it welcomed me. For a second all I could see was a bright, white light, but then I stepped into a room where I felt like I was standing amidst the stars in the dark, night-blue sky. The small stars twinkled in the dark sky just like in the 'real' life.

A meteor danced around on the starry night sky and every time it touched a special star, the star grew bigger and the meteor bounced on to the next star and did the same there, like a pinball game. When it hit the last star, the meteor quickly died out. I found myself being completely and utterly hypnotized by it as it had bounced around, and was still mesmerized by everything around me.

The enlarged stars stood bright and proud on the night sky and twinkled a lot more than all the other stars together, they almost lit up the darkness of the night. A thick red line appeared at the first enlarged star and followed the path the meteor had taken just moments ago.

When all the stars were connected, I recognized the symbol it had made. It was the Canis Minor constellation, the one on Plues' key.

The Canis Minor constellation minimized and Plues' key appeared around it, with the minimized constellation as the symbol on the end of the key. It slowly floated over to me and hovered in front of my face, as if waiting for me to do something. I slowly stuck my hands out next to each other, palms facing upwards. The Silver key slowly fell down and landed in my open hands. I felt the familiar key in my hand, it felt a little warm, but in a very comfortable way.

I held the key in front of my face in one hand. What did all this mean? What was I supposed to do with Plues' key? Moustache-Man said I would know what to do, but I didn't. My free hand automatically found its way to my waist, where my keys were in the little pouch, but the pouch was completely empty. I looked around frantically in search of my keys. Where were my keys? I couldn't have lost them, could I? Ohh, Aquarius would be so mad, I didn't think I would survive that one.

_Do not worry._ A little voice said, interrupting me in my frantic search. I looked up and around to find the owner of the voice, but there was only me. _Your keys are not gone._ It continued. I noticed it wasn't just one voice, it was many small ones.

"Where are you?" I asked, my voice echoing through the starry sky, and still looking for the owners of the voices. "Show yourselves!"

_We are already visible all around you. _The voices said.

"Who are you?" I asked, more calmly, but not understanding what the voices were hinting.

_We are the stars you see all around you and we will guide you when you enter our world._ They told me.

I looked around at the twinkling stars. They somehow seemed to be waving at me when I looked at them. I nodded, accepting their explanation. "Okay, so where are my keys?" I asked. They would know, wouldn't they? They almost indirectly said they did.

_You have not yet earned the right to use them here in our world. _They answered. What was that supposed to mean? What rights did I need to call out my Spirits?

"What do you mean? Why don't I have my keys?" I asked, clutching Plues' key close to my chest. "What about the 'outside' world?" I asked consecutively, not giving them any time to answer.

_Your keys are only gone in our world._ They reassured me. I sighed in relief, so I hadn't lost my keys. _However to regain your keys in our world, you will have to prove to us that you are worthy of doing so. That you have the desired strength to have them._ They continued.

I looked around curiously. "How do I prove to you that I am strong enough and worthy of my keys?" I asked the sky. To be honest, I felt a little ridiculous talking to the sky like that.

_You call out your Spirits in our world.___They said. _Until you are able to call out your Spirit, it is not yours and you are unable to ever use their full power. _They told me quite plainly. A little too plainly, if you asked me.

"So I just call out Plue, and then I will own his key in your world and use his full power in the 'outside' world?" I asked, just to be sure. Whatever power he had.

_Yes._ The stars simply said.

Well that was simple enough. I pointed Plues' key out in my usual stance. I drew on my magic and sent it into the Silver key in my hand, just like I always had. "Open Gate of the Canis Minor! Nikora!" I yelled. The key glowed a faint golden light, but apart from that, nothing happened. "What? What happened?" I pulled the key back and turned and twisted it in front of me to find a difference on this key and the key I knew from the 'outside' world. I couldn't find any differences though; they were like two drops of water.

_You didn't use your true power.___The stars told me. I looked up and around at them. Why did they have to say everything in such riddles? I guessed with 'true' they meant 'full', some people called full power for true power. So I had to use my full power, did I? But this was just Plue, I didn't need my full power for him. _Try again using your true power._ They urged me on.

This would be a little overkill, but alright. I drew on all my power surges. I felt my hair begin to float around my head as if there wasn't any gravity. I closed my eyes so I could reach into the deepest parts of myself to draw out the last parts of my magic.

I felt a strong rush surge through me and knew I had collected all of my power. I opened my eyes and pushed it all into the little Silver key. The power that surged through my veins all flowed into Plues' key. I felt the rush of power I just had, leave my body through my fingers. All was set and done. "Open Gate of the Canis Minor! Nikora!" I yelled with an even more echoing voice filled with power. Never before had I collected all my power and sent it through a key. I hadn't ever heard this powerful voice, so I became quite startled when I heard it and nearly lost my focus. Nearly. Not completely.

The key glowed brightly and blinded me. I shielded my eyes with my free hand, but it was still way too for me to be able to see anything.

Then all of a sudden, the light died out completely and in front of me stood…

Nothing.

I fell to my knees as the magical drain I'd just gone through welled over me. I dropped Plues' key and it landed a little in front of me, where it slid over the floor, just out of my reach. I steadied myself with my hands on the floor and stared in disbelief at Plues' Silver key.

It never was this difficult to call out Plue. All I created with my full power was some light. Blinding or not.

I dropped my head and felt tears begin to form in my eyes. My tears dropped down, but never met the invisible floor. They just kept falling.

_You are still not using your true power._ The stars told me monotonously. _Come back when you are prepared to use your true power._ Plues' key began levitating in the air in front of me, still out of my reach. I stretched my arm out to take it, although I already knew it was futile, out of my reach. I couldn't move because of the strain of my loss of magic.

The key teased me by hanging there in the air right in front of me. As if challenging me to take it. A second later, it flew off into the night sky and became one of the many stars. "Plue!" I screamed in panic. Had I lost Plue? Was I unable to summon him now?

_Lucy Mau'Te Rongo, come back when you are ready to use your strongest power, but also greatest weakness, your true power._ The voices faded out in the end along with the stars. When the last star had disappeared, I was back in the black darkness.

I looked around, but the golden star was nowhere to be seen. "Plue! Give Plue back to me!" I shrieked in panic, but no one answered me. I crashed to the ground, unable to keep myself up any longer. "Plue." I whispered.

**A little while later~**

**Lucys' P.O.V**

"**Open your eyes Lucy.**" A deep echoing voice said. It was faintly familiar, but I just… Couldn't remember who it belonged to.

"Princess! PRINCESS, WAKE UP!" Someone very familiar yelled, almost screamed. Someone grabbed my shoulder tightly and shook me back and forth. "Please… _Please_ just… Open your eyes. I don't know what I would do without you." The same very familiar voice whimpered. Oh why wouldn't they just keep quiet? My head hurt so bad.

"**Calm down Leo, she isn't dead.**" The echoing and now also authoritative voice said. I remembered that name. Leo. "**Look, she's breathing, she won't die.**"

"No I-" The second voice started, but was cut off.

I decided I would put an end to their endless rambling. "Oh go home to Aries already, Loke." I moaned and opened one eye to look at my Lion Spirit. He had dropped his glasses and his green eyes looked like they were about to cry. Or already had.

The he threw himself at me and locked his arms around me, pulling me up from my lying position and pushing me into his chest. "I thought you were dead!" He said loudly and with a hoarse voice.

Moustache-Man nodded. "**Yeah, he really did.**" He smirked. Loke ignored his comment and didn't move a muscle.

I reached down in my pouch, not without pain, and found the key I was looking for. "I'm just fine." I reassured the two of them, looking at Plues' key, which I held in my line of sight. So I hadn't lost him, that was good.

Loke still didn't let go, so I just let hang onto me as he did. I knew how hard it was for him when he found out that Karen, his former Master, was dead, so if he had thought I had died, he'd probably have been completely crushed.

The Spirit King cleared his throat. "**So what did you see in there? And what emptied your magic like this?**" He asked.

I moved around a little in Lokes' embrace and got my head to peek over Lokes' shoulder. I placed Plues' key in my pouch and locked my arms around either side of Loke and intertwined my fingers at his back, having found a somewhat comfortable position. I began explaining what had happened during my meditation. I found myself enjoying Lokes' continuous embrace, although it might have seemed a little weird to some.

Moustache-Man looked like he was lost in thought when I was finished explaining. "**Hrm… Your full power, you say?**" He asked, playing with his oversized moustache. Again.

I nodded. "Yeah, and apparently I didn't use all of my power, according to those stars." I said.

The Spirit King glanced at me. "**Could this mean – Nah, I don't think they'd think of that.**" Moustache-man mumbled to himself.

I looked up at him with curious eyes. "What are you talking about?" I asked.

He first now seemed to realize he had spoken out loud. "**Oh, I was just wondering if they're talking about the Second Origin, but I don't think they're talking about that.**" The Spirit King answered. Second Origin? Where had I heard that before?

"Second Origin? What is that?" I asked, trying to sound as innocent and clueless I could. I'd read about it somewhere before, I just couldn't remember what it told about it.

Moustache-Man sighed. "**Second Origin is a second container of magic in every living creature, non-magical as well as magical. It is a large, hidden magic that we all possess, but never tap into.**" He explained. I nodded in understanding, still not remembering much of what I once read. "**I can't believe those stars of yours could be talking about the Second Origin.**"

I thought back to the earlier events that took place in my mind. Something in me told me that the Second Origin was exactly what they were talking about. What else could they mean when they said I should use my full power? It is the only magic I didn't use, which I had. I looked back up at the Spirit King expectantly. "Is there any way to 'open' this container?" I asked.

The Spirit King nodded solemnly. "**Yes, but it is incredibly painful and-**" I cut the Spirit King off.

"I came here to get stronger." I told him with a determined look in my eyes. "We'll open the Second Origin tomorrow." I said.

Both the Spirit King and I waited for the Lion, who still sat with his arms around me, to protest wildly. But he didn't say anything at all. Moustache-Man and I exchanged gazes. Why didn't Loke say anything?

I pulled a little back from Lokes' embrace, which was much looser now. I looked at his face, he had closed eyes and took deep and steady breaths. I smiled at my Spirit, he was asleep.

I looked up at the Spirit King with the same gentle smile I'd given the sleeping Loke. "He's asleep." I said in a low voice, so I wouldn't wake him.

The big Spirit nodded with a wide grin. "**Ah well, I guess he's had a hard day today. First he had to beat you up, then he was convinced you were dead…**" he played with his beard for the hundredth time. "**I feel with my old friend.**" He said thoughtfully. He broke out of whatever trance he was caught in and looked down at me. "**Should I help you get him off you?**" he asked with an amused glint in his eyes. That didn't sound wrong at all.

I glared lightly up at him. "Yes, that would be nice." I answered.

He nodded and placed his index finger on Lokes' back. His finger began glowing faintly and in a flash of golden light, the weight around me eased and Loke was gone.

I rolled my shoulders a little, they'd become quite tired. I shot the Spirit King a thankful glance. "Thank you."

He shrugged. "**Oh, it was nothing.**" The index finger he'd used to send Loke to the Spirit World – hopefully – shot up and pointed at the sky. "**That's right! I have a special gift for you.**" He said as he looked through his pockets. "**Here it is.**" He pulled something tiny, for him anyway, out of his pockets and placed it in my hands. It was a little, thick book in a nice, green cover. 'Dragon Language' was written in a beautiful, old letters over the front of the cover in a golden color. The edges all around the book was also the golden color and some kind of metal.

"What is this?" I asked without looking at him, instead I was inspecting the book.

He snickered. "**Well, I thought you might want to look a few words up.**" He smiled. "**Try opening it.**" He urged. I did as he was told and opened the book, revealing the first page. It was completely bare, except on the page to the right in the middle, there was a red square, not a button or anything, just as if it was a picture, and with a golden line all around it at the edge. Underneath it stood in the same beautiful, antique letters 'Switch Languages'.

I looked up at the Spirit King. "What does this mean?" I asked.

"**If you send some of your magic through that square, the Dragon language and your language will switch places.**" He explained. "**For example, if you want to find out how to say 'fire' in the Dragon language, but the book is ordered after the Dragon language, you simply send you magic into the square and – voila! – the book is ordered after your language." **He told me.

I looked surprised at the open book. "Wow, that is so handy." I looked at the Spirit King. "Thank you so much!" I smiled. This book was sure to come in handy.

"**You're** **welcome.**" He smiled and waved. "**I'll see you tomorrow and then we'll look at your Second Origin.**" He said and disappeared in flash of golden light.

I giggled. "Oh, you big show off." I told him even though he was far beyond being able to hear me.

I faintly heard flaps in the background. I turned around and saw Alodiculis coming flying into the little field. He landed quickly and ran a few steps to slow down. He then proceeded to casually walk over to me and tower up above me. "**Are you ready for the last part of your training for today?**" He asked.

I nodded and I went into the depths of my mind. Again.

**Hours later~**

**Lucys' P.O.V**

It showed up that I, obviously in Alodiculis' eyes, wasn't able to find my Dragon powers, although I searched quite a bit. If you asked me anyway.

The day was finally over and I could go to sleep. I went back into Acnologias' and my cave and fell down on the soft moss in the lonely cave. Acnologia still hadn't come back from his training and I couldn't stay awake long enough for him to come back. I was completely wasted, I'd used up all my magical reserves and I was tired physically as well as mentally. As soon as I closed my eyes, I fell in a deep slumber.

**In case you're wondering, the reason Lucy was close to dying, like Loke thought she was, during the Spirit Kings training, is because she used all her magic, which is the same as having lost a lot of your life energy… If I remember correctly. Actually maybe I'm talking about Naruto and chakra. Yeah. Well anyway, let's just say it is the same here, and the only reason she survived here was because of her dormant Dragon powers and the untapped Second Origin. Yep, yep. I'M MIXING EVERYTHING TOGETHER! YAAAAAAAY!**

**Hope it was a guuuuuud (The Jim Carrey way) chapter. Originally I planned to first post it tomorrow, but tomorrow is pretty busy, and I will basically not be able to be on the Pc all day. Just great. So I'm posting today.**

**Anyway, what did you think of the first training session here? I know she might have been beat down a lot, but that is just the way it is. I got to spice this story up, ya' know. Besides, she was supposed to seem weak, which she probably does now. **

**Thank you LimeesLemoons, shiro heartfilia, 00halfblood, TheOfficialCryptic, EmyLove, LaedyLynx, MoonStar1312, Crazzygirl101, TheBigBadWolfxTheOncomingStorm, king of the lion, MelodyTheKitten, FT LOVER (Guest), dakrith, Shinigami Ou, clumzybeans, Atlanticfire, mjb376, Umi Ryuuzaki, fanman963, Baka-Bunny-Senpai, videogamerfan144, RawrrIt'sMe, naruto789987, FearMyLaserFace, Tsiera and all you other readers for reading, mainly, favoriting, following and/or reviewing. Amazing people, I just gotta say. It's amazing how this part always is so long….**

**No Translations in a while so…. Yeah.**

**~Line464d**


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

**Guess what? You get home to you dad, and what do you see in the garage? A friggin' new car! Or should I say, yet another new car? It is a Cadillac convertible 1962, and lemme tell you, it's long. A little longer than two Kia Picanto's – if you know that car – just behind each other. It's a little limousine! And a cabriolet too. Awesome car I tell ya. – Not that you guys would have much to do with the information, I just thought you should know! ^_^**

**I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made! R&R!**

**Disclaimer: Ah yes, Slowpoke has gone for a walk, I'll ask him when he comes back, but for now I don't own Fairy Tail.**

**In a clearing in Socubedo Forest – First day of training**

**Acnologias' P.O.V**

"**So what are we doing during this training?**" I asked. My SIC, Deamunas Tehepo, was the one who was supposed to help me train, at least in the start. He was a big, black Dragon, bigger than any of the Head Dragons, which was a feat in itself. He had marks all over his long form, which were a little similar to tiger-stripes, except somewhat thinner and longer and in a bright, neon red color. His wings were the five fans every Chaos Dragon had somewhere, just enlarged. A lot. The biggest ones closest to his neck and head and the three small ones behind the two big. Much like the fans on my head, actually, just much bigger. His neck and tail weren't quite as long as mine, but much thicker. His eyes were a dark red color, which made him look quite intimidating.

When I became the Head Dragon of the Chaos Clan, we were trying to find a new SIC, because the previous one had become too old. We usually would find a new SIC when they reached around the age of 400 years of age. Grandine had, nice as she was, helped me pick out a new SIC, and we'd found Deamunas. He was 74 years old, so he was relatively young. And he was my best friend in the whole Chaos Clan.

He'd taken care of the Clan while I was in Earthland, which I was really grateful for, and he'd sent a Mini Messenger Dragon to me once a month, so I could follow what was happening in the Clan during my absence. He also made sure to put up a communication Lacrima when there was a Head Dragon meeting. He was a really good choice for a SIC and all the Head Dragons agreed on that. Whether they said it or not.

Now Deamunas was in charge of my training, which I'd thought I'd completed. We were in a clearing in the middle of Socubedo forest. Apparently I would be 'too distracted' if I was on the field with Lucy, so we'd found another place for me to train.

Dravola and Glanasile had let Deamunas decide for himself how my training would be, so I didn't know how it would be like at all.

"**You're going to practice your control over your magic.**" Deamunas answered plainly, but with a faint smirk. "**As it is right now, you have absolutely no control over your power and your aim is horrible. You can't hit anything, even if it was right in front of you.**" He smirked fully. Of course I could hit a target; I had great control over my magic. What was he talking about?

I glared at my SIC. "**I don't have a horrible aim! I can hit my targets.**" I protested. Deamunas snorted at me.

"**Káo (No), you can't Ac-nii-chan.**" Basuril, who had tagged along, shook his head. "**But you're really good at close combat!**" He hurried and praised me with a wide smile and sparkles appearing all around him.

I sweat dropped. Thank you Basuril, you made everything much better.

Deamunas pointed up at the sky with his tail. "**Hit one of those birds up there and I'll admit you have a good aim.**" He looked back at me with a wide smirk. "**Or are you too afraid to lose?**" He asked.

I glared at him. "**I'm not going to lose, just you wait and see.**" I said determinedly and looked at the five birds above us. "**I'll hit one of those birds.**" I reassured the two Chaos Dragons.

"**I'm looking forward to seeing that.**" Deamunas said.

I ignored him and focused on one of the birds. It was black with a white stomach and a dark beak, making it a little different from the other four, which were completely black and with bright orange beaks.

I gathered a small amount of my elemental power in my mouth, I didn't want to kill the little guy, I just wanted to poke him a little or something.

I took aim at the bird and shot my Chaos element beam at the bird. It looked like a black laser-beam with small streaks of bright blue. The laser flew towards the birds in a high speed. It flowed closer and closer to its target and…

Flew over them. It flew far over the little flock of birds, missing completely.

"**You see?**" Deamunas smirked. He looked down at my cousin. "**Basuril, why don't you try?**" He suggested.

Basuril nodded and looked at the birds. He gathered his power in his mouth and took aim at the birds, just like I did. He shot five small lasers in a rapid succession. The five black and blue lasers flew towards the birds and hit them all one after another, without fail.

I watched it all with widened eyes as the birds flapped a little faster with their wings and flew away confused. How could he hit all five so perfectly when I couldn't even hit one? Sure he was a prodigy and everything, but even so… Did I really have such a bad aim that even a kid surpassed me?

Basurils' head shot in my direction and with a wide grin on it. "**Did you see that Ac-nii-chan? I hit all of them!**" He cheered happily.

I smiled at the little Dragon. "**Yeah. Maybe you could teach me some of your tricks?**" I suggested.

Basurils' face lit up and he fell in a daze with roses, sparkles and a pink aura around him. He had a sparkling, dreamy look in his eyes.

Deamunas snickered. "**Alright, I don't think he'll snap out of that anytime soon, so let's begin.**" His dark red eyes met mine. "**Go talk with your Dragon; he'll know what to do.**" He said with a straight face.

I looked at him as if he'd just spoken Arabic (A/N; No offense to the Arabic people) to me. "**What? Talk with my Dragon? What do you mean?**" I asked. What was he talking about? Talk with my Dragon – That would be impossible, the Dragon and I were one person.

Deamunas looked at me with that straight face for a few seconds, then dropped it and shook it. "**Don't tell me you've never met your Dragon.**" He glanced up at me with his red eyes. I didn't say anything, I just stood there with a dumb expression on my face. He shook his head in disapproval. "**What did your father teach you in all those years?**" He asked rhetorically.

I decided to answer anyway. "**Not much. He usually let me do my training by myself; he always told me it was better to discover things myself.**" I said. I'd believed every word my father said when I was little and I still did. No one was going to change that.

Deamunas sighed deeply. "**Now everything makes much more sense.**" He muttered. He looked up at me. "**While some things are best to discover yourself, some things are best when you've had help. This included.**" He told me. "**To have perfect control over your elemental magic, you'll have to go into a meditative state. It's different for everyone, but you'll know what to do when you get there. All I can say is that you will meet your Dragon there and he'll tell you what to do.**" He explained. "**Or show you.**" He added.

I nodded; it all seemed simple enough, really. Except one thing. "**So you're saying that my Dragon and I are two separate entities all together?**" I asked. That was the one thing he hadn't explained out right.

Deamunas looked at me as if I was the dumbest person alive. "**I thought that was quite clear. Ae (Yes) you and your Dragon are two different personalities of one body. Kind of like a person with a split-personality.**" He explained.

I'd always thought that my Dragon form and my Human form were kind of like a human mage with Take Over magic, where I just changed my appearance, but my personality stayed the same. To say that I was shocked would be an understatement.

I didn't really know what to do or say, so I kept my mental breakdown at bay and just accepted the words for now. "**Alright, so what now?**" I asked.

Deamunas looked baffled by my quick recovery, but answered me nonetheless. "**You meditate and go deep into the depths of your mind.**" He told me. Did I really have to meditate? I'd never done this before, I didn't know what to do. I just stared at my friend silently. He stared back for a while until he got the message and sighed exasperatedly. "**How dumb can you be?**" I heard him mutter before a black and red light engulfed him. He changed into his Human form and stood before me.

He had short, black hair that clung to his head, a little longer in the back than in the front. He wore a neon red t-shirt with black tiger-stripes on the sides and black jeans with three similar tiger-stripes on the sides on the jeans, just underneath the pockets in a neon red color. Just like the color of his scales as a Dragon. He had bright, neon red sneakers on, matching the rest of his outfit. He was a very tall and muscular man, just like he was as a Dragon. Except right now, he looked like a big rabbit to me. A big rabbit with dark red eyes.

He looked up at me with his, now quite small, red eyes. "First of all, you change into to your Human form." He told me and waited for me to do as he said I should. Quickly, I let the black and blue light surround me and stepped out as a human. Deamunas nodded. "Good, now you sit on the ground and cross your legs." He said, sat down on the ground and crossed his legs. I followed without saying a word. "Close your eyes." I followed instructions and closed my eyes. "And now let your senses overflow with the nature around you." Deamunas finished off.

I nodded silently and did as was told. I focused feeling the nature with my senses and soon it welled over me. The sounds, the feelings and the scents of the nature and wildlife around me and overthrew me, throwing me into an abyss darkness. I opened my eyes and saw only black oblivion. I blinked a few times, but nothing changed, it remained black and dark.

Then, out of nowhere, a bright blue curly mark appeared in the dark blackness. I immediately recognized it as one of those marks that covered my scaly body when I was in my Dragon form. I felt myself being drawn to the bright blue mark. Unable to resist it, I stepped closer to it and felt a strong urge to go through it. Following my intuition, I stepped into the blue light. A white flash of light blinded me for a second and I closed my eyes against the bright light. When I opened them again, I stood in the cave Lucy and I stayed in here in the Dragon Realm. I felt myself sink into the soft moss a little, not quite as much as I did when I was a Dragon though.

"**You took your sweet time showing up here.**" A deep voice that was way too familiar said behind me.

I turned around and faced myself. Okay, let me rephrase that. I faced my Dragon form in my Human form. I was smirking down at me. This was way too confusing. I was speechless as I stared at myself. "Yo-you're.." I trailed off.

I sighed at me. "**Ae, ae (Yes, yes) I know. I'm you and you're me. There**" I rolled my eyes at me.

I looked up at myself with wide eyes. I didn't know I looked _that_ intimidating as a Dragon; it was so much different to see this way than just as a reflection in water. Now, seeing myself from below, it was no wonder every living creature would run away. I looked evil and murderous there as I looked down at me.

I smirked down at me. "**What took you so long?**" I asked me.

Alright, I was confusing myself too much. I'll dub the Dragon form of myself as a nameless Dragon and I'll be me.

"I-I-I…" I stammered, trying to say something but failed. I think there's a mental breakdown on its way.

The Dragon sighed again, but kept grinning. "**Ae (Yes) you don't have to say it, I know. You didn't know the two of us were different persons, did you?**" It looked down at me as if expecting some sort of answer. I slowly shook my head, hoping I wouldn't offend the big Dragon. I could go to sleep calmly, the Dragon didn't seem to mind much, and it broke into a deep, roaring laughter, which echoed through the cave. "**You're so dense sometimes, Mini-Me.**" The Dragon laughed. It looked down at me at the corner of its eye with amusement shining through it. "**Oh, and to answer your earlier thoughts, we don't look 'murderous', we look 'bad ass', there's a difference.**" It smirked. "**Besides, as I'm sure you know, I, your Dragon form, am your true form, which means you won't be able to use your full power until I let you.**" The Dragon roared in laughter again.

Ae (Yes), I'd figured that much out myself already, but how was I supposed to get _permission_ from this guy to go all out? Deamunas said it would come naturally to me, what I was supposed to do, but I couldn't figure it out. Why was everything always so troublesome?

The Dragon looked around at the cave as if it only just realized where it was. "**Why is this the place I'm in anyway? What does it have to do with anything?**" It mumbled mostly to itself. Maybe it didn't know about Lucy? Please let it be true. It glanced briefly down at me. "**Ahh, that's right. This is the place we'll think of whenever someone mentions the Dragon Realm. That's because it now holds a great value to us, don't you think?**" It looked down at me again with a smirk plastered on its face. "**'What is it?' You may ask. Well, it is the place where dear Lucy and we will sleep for a loooong time~!**"It said in a happy tone. And that was when all my hopes crumbled.

Like Hell was he sleeping with Lucy! "Káo (No)! You're not getting anywhere near Lucy!" I yelled right up in its face. Unforgivable.

The Dragon smirked at me. "**So you finally said something.**" It snickered. "**I think you're forgetting that you and I share the same body. Besides, every time we've slept with dear Lucy, you've changed to your Dragon form, who is none other than me.**"

I felt myself begin to pale ever so slightly. Had I been reckless and let someone like _him_ so close to Lucy? I hadn't even known he had a personality for himself, so what should I have done?

"**You know, I could just pop in and take over anytime I want.**" My head shot up and I glared at the Dragon. It pouted a fake pout when it met my glare. "**Aw, don't make that face at me. I've been so nice and let you stay in charge for so long.**" It smirked again. "**If anything, you should be thanking me.**" It stated.

I snorted. "Yeah, you'd like that, wouldn't you?" I mumbled. I glared at the Dragon again. "If you ever take over my mind, don't hurt Lucy. Or anyone else I care about." I told him.

The Dragon rolled its eyes at me. "**You idiot. Didn't I just say we're the same?**" It sighed.

I sweat dropped. "Káo (No), you said we were two different persons in one body." I muttered.

"**Whatever.**" The Dragon quickly said. "**Point is, I feel what you feel. You love Lucy, so I love Lucy. If you love, hate or hold other feelings towards someone, I feel the exact same.**" The Dragon explained.

I was rendered speechless. He felt everything I felt? That was such a relief, I wouldn't have to be worried about my friends' and family's safety, if the Dragon decided to take over.

"**Thinking about it, I guess, in our case anyway, I'm your dark side.**" It suddenly said.

I glared at it. It really was, wasn't it? I already didn't like that Dragon, _that_ made it much worse. "You like tormenting me, don't you?" I asked suspiciously. It felt like it did.

It grinned, showing off its sharp fangs. "**I don't **_**like**_** it. I **_**love**_** it.**" It stated. "**You're so funny to 'torment', as you call it. You have the best reactions; I can already feel the next many years will be amusing.**" The Dragon laughed.

That's just great. "You know, I didn't come here just to chat with you." I told it, tired of its antics. This would be some long days.

The Dragon looked at me with its dark blue eyes. It sighed and nodded. "**Ae (Yes), I know. You came here to get stronger.**" It said. "**Well, to prove yourself worthy of my cooperation, go in here-**" It lifted its tail and a black and bright blue portal appeared behind it. "**And do what I tell you to.**" It smirked.

I eyed the Dragon, but went through the portal. A bright, blinding light appeared, making me cover my eyes with my arm. I saw the light fade away and removed my arm.

I was in an all new place. A place of destruction and chaos. It looked like a big city, which had been hit by several natural disasters and wars. There weren't one whole building; they all lay in shambles on the ground. There weren't anyone around either, dead or alive.

_Can you hear me, Mini-Me?_ A deep voice asked.

I looked around to look for my Dragon from, but couldn't find it anywhere. "Where are you?" I asked.

_Idiot, I'm not physically where you are. I'm still back in our favorite cave._ The Dragon sighed dreamily. _If only dear Lucy was here, I'm so lonely~_

I could feel my dislike towards that Dragon build. A vein bulged out at my temple and I close my eyes to keep myself from lashing out in the air, clenching my fists as well. "Well she isn't there, so tell me what to do already." I yelled at the air.

_How did I ever end up with someone like you?_ The Dragon sighed again, this time not dreamily, just exasperatedly. _You have to rebuild all these buildings._ It said plainly.

I stared at the cloudless sky blankly. Then dropped my head. "Are you kiddingme?" I moaned rhetorically and walked towards the closest building.

_Ae (Yes)._ The Dragon said with amusement evident in its voice.

I dropped the broken bricks in my hands. "_Damn_ you!" I muttered through clenched teeth.

The Dragon snickered. _Honestly, did you really believe that you'd have to rebuild all these buildings? You'd never get it done._ It laughed.

I growled a little under my breath. What had I done to deserve this? I'd make up for all of my sins, if I could get rid of this pest of an other self. Not that I had made many sins or anything. It would be impossible anyway, there was unfortunately no way I could get rid of that jerk.

A silhouette of black and blue appeared in front of me. It was just a big lump of black and blue, didn't particularly look like anything. The colors moved around as if it was pure Chaos magic.

_Slay that one and I will grant you my power and cooperation with your Chaos magic. _The Dragon told me.

The black and blue thing began moving around and bulge out here and there, as if something was trying to get out of an egg. A black and blue fat line stuck out at the top right, the same at the top left, the bottom right and the bottom left. At last a bigger bulge appeared right in the middle of the two lines at the top. It slowly grew up and looked like an oval that had merged with a bigger oval at the ends.

I looked in disgust at the thing, it looked really weird and disgusting. I didn't really know if I wanted to fight it, because then I'd have to touch it. "What _is_ that?" I asked no one in particular, having completely forgotten the Dragon.

_A little creation of mine. It's pure Chaos magic, which I know you've figured out already, Mini-Me._ The Dragon answered. _It's ready in a moment._

The Dragons' black and blue creation began to move in something that resembled spasms The big oval in the middle moved to the side as if it had been hit by a strong wave. Some of the Chaos magic, which was blown away, disappeared into thin air. The Chaos magic that wasn't blown away had formed into a well-built male torso. The lines protruding out from the torso began one after another to first bend one way, then the other in a ridiculously unnatural way. After that they kind of seemed like they were boiling and slowly formed muscular arms and hands or legs and feet. The top oval tilted unnaturally to one side, then the other and at last the energy pulled together and formed a face and hairless head. It didn't even have nose or ears.

_It's done!_ The Dragon announced happily.

A black and blue Chaos magic man stood in front of me, completely still, except the energy that moved around in him as if it had a life on its own.

I stared at the naked thing in front of me. How would I fight this one? "Can I even touch it?" I thought out loud.

_Of course you can._ The Dragon answered. _If you couldn't you'd never even stand a chance. You would never be able to hit it with that ridiculous aim of yours._ It laughed.

I sweat dropped. "You don't have to add salt to the injury." I muttered.

_Right, right, get the fight going already._ The Dragon said impatiently.

Hmph, how clever was that Dragon really? He just rushed on the destruction of his own creation.

I got into my fighting-stance and focused on my opponent. He stood unmoving and faced me. I began to build up Chaos magic in my mouth and got ready to fire a wide blast at the enemy. I felt it building and sent a little more to the Chaos magic I'd collected in my mouth to complete it.

The black and blue man stood as still as ever. I aimed at him and shot my Chaos magic beam at him. It hit him straight in the face.

I smirked victoriously. Well, that was surprisingly easy. So now I have-

I stopped my thoughts there. The beam I'd shot was being absorbed into the man and made him grow a few inches. I felt my eyes widen as I watched my attack being absorbed into my opponents face.

The Dragon roared in laughter. _Oh, did I forget to mention that since my creation is pure Chaos magic, your Chaos element attacks will have no other effect on him than to make him grow in size and strength? _It asked amusedly.

"Ae (Yes), you 'forgot'. You bastard!" I yelled at the sky, while keeping an eye on my unmoving opponent. The Dragon just continued his roaring laughter, maybe even a little louder.

I gave the Chaos man all my attention. Okay, so I couldn't use my Chaos element magic on this guy. I had to rely on my close combat skills in my Human form. Fortunately that was what I was best at.

I glared at the lump of black and blue magic in front of me. I crouched a little to be ready for whatever was to come and cracked my knuckles. It'd been a long time since I last had a real hand-to-hand battle that challenged me. This ought to be fun.

I crouched a little more and charged at my enemy with one hand pulled behind my head. When I was just about to hit him in the face, he simply twisted his upper part of his body so I missed by just an inch. I had expected this, no one would stand completely still when someone charged without having something like this up their sleeve, and shot my other hand forward, connecting with his solar plexus with a hard blow from below.

The Chaos man bent forward over my arm, baring his neck and back. I lifted my free hand, which had purposely missed him just a second ago, and elbowed him where his neck connected with his back. I quickly stepped back from him as he felt to the ground on his stomach. Normal humans would be out with two powerful blows like those, but my opponent was anything _but_ human.

He slowly rose to his knees and feet. I stared at him intensely, trying to read his movements, but it was hard since he didn't have a face. He stood straight, then imitated my crouched stance. Simultaneously we began to sidestep in a circle around each other, like two hungry tigers. We slowly circled closer and closer and at some point, we were at an arm's length from each other.

The Chaos man took a last sidestep, then quickly brought his right arm back to hit me in the gut. His arm shot forward in a fast speed and it seemed to grow a few inches. Just before it hit me, I quickly blocked, grabbing his hand with my left hand, which sent a jolt of pain up through my arm and shoulder.

That wasn't supposed to hurt so much, what did I do wrong? I looked down at where our hands met, they were both covered in a black and blue orb. My eyes widened. He used Chaos magic!

I looked up at my opponent and before I could react, his free hand hit my gut hard and with Chaos magic, like the other one was supposed to. I doubled over and spit out saliva, that had risen up through my throat from the impact.

How was I supposed to beat this guy when he had the advantage of being able to use Chaos magic? How could I win with such a big handicap?

I just had to step up my game a little.

_Eeh? This turned out to be rather entertaining. Mini-Me, get back up on your feet, I want this match to continue. _The Dragon said thoughtfully.

Oh so he enjoyed all this? I guess I'd give him the 'fun' he wanted. I got back up in my battle-stance, ready for another round.

_Besides, if you lose this one, I'll take over tonight when we're all alone with dear Lucy._ It added gleefully.

Oh _Hell_ no! There's _no_ way I would let that jerk take over! Especially not when I was alone with Lucy. There was just no other way, I would have to beat this guy to a pulp! That damn Dragon wouldn't win!

I felt my rage towards my other self skyrocket and the magic around me exploded. The loose bricks lying around on the ground were violently thrown away by the merciless push of the explosion of magic.

The Chaos man was also pushed back by the magic. It wasn't Chaos magic that had exploded, it was what some people would call 'the power of feelings', but I'd rather call it my 'inner power'.

I got ready to pounce and after the wind of my magic-explosion had died out completely, I charged my opponent. The Chaos man wasn't prepared for my sudden attack, so he wasn't able to dodge when I tripped him with a swing of my right leg. He fell to the ground on his back and I quickly landed on him with a leg on either side of him, keeping him immobile.

I began beating him up. A punch to the gut. A punch to the faceless head. A punch on his shoulder. I kept pounding him badly, completely blinded by my hatred for the Dragon. Too blinded to notice that the Chaos man had gotten an arm free. He quickly pushed me away with all the force he could gather in one arm. Which apparently was a lot.

I flew back a few meters and landed on the ground on my feet, digging my two feet into the ground, trying to stop sliding too far away from my opponent and a hand on the ground to steady myself. A big cloud of dust rose from the ground and fogged my sight completely.

I got up from the ground and ran into the dust cloud, hoping to find my opponent still messing around on the ground.

Just as I entered the fog, I was hit in the back violently, making me stumble forward, almost making me fall to my knees. I whirled around and just barely saw a glint of something black disappearing out of sight. Oh he was smart. I looked all around me on high alert, trying to locate my enemy, while also being on guard for attacks there were likely to come. Just as I'd foretold, I saw a brief flash of black behind me, a clear indication of him planning on launching a sneak attack when I was open. I acted as if I was clueless as to what he was planning, while being on guard and ready for the oncoming attack from behind.

A second later, the attack I'd predicted from behind was launched. The Chaos man came flying with his foot first, aiming for my back and covered in Chaos magic. I stepped to the left and the kick missed by just a few inches. The Chaos mans' foot flew right past my head and just above my shoulder. I stretched out my right hand, waiting for my enemy to fly into my clenched fist, using his speed as my power. I aimed perfectly, for once, and he flew straight into my outstretched fist.

I recoiled from the hard blow and took a step back, digging it in the ground as we slid a little. My fist was buried in his head where his nose would have been, had he had one, there was a little crater around my fist in his head, as if he was gel.

I readied my other hand for an uppercut and it shot forward, hitting him under his chin. Just as my uppercut hit, I pulled my right hand back and watched him as he flew high up in the air.

He hovered a pair of meters above me in the air and then he fell head first down in the grovel underneath with a thud, sending up another big cloud of dust and a little debris. I panted heavily and dropped my arms loosely at my sides. I glared at the cloud of dust, waiting for it to die out, so I could see the condition of my opponent.

The cloud slowly dissipated and I quickly spotted the black and blue Chaos man lying still on the ground.

I straightened my back with some effort and a moan, that blow he gave me in the dust cloud still hurt, and slowly and carefully made my way to the still man. I was on high alert for any movement. I stood right next to where he was sprawled across a broken wall of a building. He didn't look like he would get back up. At the corner of my eye, I saw his feet beginning to disappear and soon he disappeared completely, not leaving any hint of his existence back.

_So you won, Mini-Me. I'd rather have had my creation win but the match was quite entertaining so I guess it's alright. _The Dragon told me.

"Whatever… Let me… Out of here…" I said between pants. That battle with the Chaos man had been fun. Finally I was challenged by someone who stood a chance of winning.

_Impatient, are we? Alright, step through the portal and you're out._ The Dragon sighed.

The black and bright blue portal from before appeared right in front of me. I went through the portal with an arm covering my eyes, waiting for the blinding light to fade away.

Shortly after, I could see the light turn dark behind my arm. I dropped my arm and looked around at the cave Lucy and I was sleeping in.

"**What's with that dumb expression?**" The Dragon asked behind me. Why did he have to sneak up on me like that?

I turned around and smirked at him. "So… I have… Your… Cooperation… Now." I said, still panting heavily as the adrenaline left my body.

The Dragon scowled. "**Ae (Yes), unfortunately you do.**" It answered. "**I'll let you use your full Chaos magic and I won't take over your mind tonight. Blah, blah, blah, get going already.**" It grumbled.

I grinned at it and closed my eyes. I thought of the clearing I was in with Deamunas and Basuril, when I opened my eyes again, I was with those two.

Deamunas was sitting on a rock in his Human form and Basuril was lying on his back in his Dragon form. His wings lay flatly on the ground and with all four feet above him sticking into the air. I guessed he was looking at his claws, 'cause he was moving them around and poked them with each other.

Surprisingly, the exhaustion I had felt, when I was with my Dragon in my mind, had completely vanished and I as if the battle I'd just fought never had happened. I knew it had though.

I moved my legs to get up and that's when I felt the pain I had been waiting for. A wave of pain washed over my leg, which made me moan loudly. The pain wasn't the kind of pain you got from being hit hard by something, it was a pain of exhausted muscles.

But I didn't do too much in there, so how could I be so exhausted? Was it the explosion of my inner magic? It shouldn't have exhausted my muscles though, only my magic-reserves and they're not really exhausted at all.

"Oh, so you're back now?" Deamunas asked, walking towards me.

Basurils' head shot in my direction. "**Ac-nii-chan!**" He happily said and rolled around to his feet with a bright smile.

I nodded to Deamunas. "Yeah." I plainly answered. "Why are my muscles so sore?" I asked. Maybe they knew.

"Ah, that's because you've been very tense since you entered your meditative state." Deamunas told me. "What happened in there?" He asked, referring to my mind.

"A lot happened." I said and began explaining as Basuril dropped down and laid his head in my lap.

**A while later ~**

**Acnologias' P.O.V**

"**So you fought magic with your bare hands?**" Basuril asked. I nodded to him. "**Cool~**" He said with sparkled appearing in his eyes. He quickly snapped out of it though. "**Not that I expected less of you Ac-nii-chan!**" He hurriedly reassured me.

I smiled at him. "I know, Basuril." People told me that his adoration for me skyrocketed when I became a Head Dragon as a 16 years old buy, who'd just gotten his Dragon. I guess I was a bit of a prodigy myself.

"Your Dragon has an interesting personality." Deamunas commented.

I looked at my friend. "You think? I don't think he liked me." I said plainly. Everything that Dragon did and said screamed 'I don't like you!', at least if you asked me. Deamunas merely laughed at my words. I cleared my throat to get his attention again. "Deamunas?" I called in a serious tone. There was something had to ask.

Said persons' laugh halted when he heard my serious tone. He looked down at me attentively. "Yeah, what is it?" He asked.

I took a deep breath. "My Dragon said something that kind of interested me." I began. Deamunas nodded for me to continue. "He said that he was my 'dark side', is that possible?" I asked.

Deamunas furrowed his eyebrows. "Káo (No), I've never heard of anything like that." He shook his head. "It's true that you Dragon form and your Human form feel the same towards other people, but you are two different persons. The only thing that binds the two forms together is the fact that you share the same body and hold the same feeling towards people." Deamunas explained, brushing a bang of hair away from his eyes. It fell back in place though and this time he just let it hang. "There's no such thing as a 'dark side'." He ended off.

I nodded and huffed. "Right. So he only wanted to torment me." I got up from where I still sat on the ground with aching muscles. Basuril had ended up moving his head pretty quickly, finding it more comfortable to hold his head himself. "That's just great." I sighed.

Deamunas smirked at me. "Is he really _that_ bad?" He asked.

I nodded quickly. "Ae (Yes). Ae (Yes), he is _that_ bad." I told him, which only made him smirk wider. I glared at him. "It's not funny, you know."

"Yeah, it is." Deamunas smirked.

Basuril pouted childishly. "**Káo (No), it's not! You should feel bad for Ac-nii-chan!**" He whined down at the elderDragon, who was in Human form. Deamunas stared up at him with a thoughtful expression. Basuril looked confusedly at him. "**What is it?**" He asked.

Deamunas shook his head. "Oh, it's nothing." He said. "I was just thinking how weird your childish acts looks from below." He simply stated.

Basurils' lower lip began to tremble. "**B-b-but, don't I l-look cute?**" He asked. He bowed his head extra much and sent Deamunas puppy-eyes through eyelashes that just appeared at the spot. Those irresistible puppy-eyes of his. They were truly irresistible!

Deamunas, who was caught by Basurils' puppy-eyes, which was beginning to water, slowly nodded without breaking eye contact with the little Dragon. "Ae (Yes), I was wrong. You look cute whether it's from above or below." He said as if in a trance.

I looked at my SIC caught in my cousins' spell with pity. I'd tried that many times, those irresistible eyes of doom. I patted him on the shoulder. "I know the feeling, my friend. I don't blame you for anything." I told him reassuringly and mostly in a joking manner too, but Basuril seemed to believe it to be genuine.

He returned his eyes to their normal state and beamed at Deamunas. "**If Ac-nii-chan has forgiven you, then I have too!**" He said happily and began skipping around.

Deamunas held his head in his hand groggily. "That cousin of yours is quite fearsome." He said with a slurred voice.

I sweat dropped. "Yeah, 'fearsome'…" I agreed, although not all genuine. "What'll be the next stage of training?" I asked to change the topic from my 'fearsome' cousin.

Deamunas, suddenly past the aftermath of Basurils' spell, smirked. "Oh, you'll hate this one." He told me. "We're going to practice control over your Chaos magic and with 'we're' I mean 'you'." He smirked.

I moaned exasperatedly. Of all things, control over Chaos magic. The thing I hated the most. "Great. What am I supposed to do then?" I asked, not finding any motivation to go on at all.

Deamunas held his hand up, palm facing the sky. "You're going to-" He began charging power to his hand. "Create a ball of Chaos magic." He ended off. The Chaos magic he had collected was sent up and gathered at his palm, hovering just above it, till it created a little black and bright red, Deamunas' Chaos elements' colors, ball the size of a big football. He looked at me. "Now it's your turn." He told me and let his Chaos ball disappear again.

I sighed. Why did I have to do this? Wasn't it fine if it was just chaotic? It was _Chaos_ magic after all. But I knew it had to be done, if I didn't go through with it, it wouldn't get much stronger.

At last, I nodded. "Alright, I'll try." I gave in.

Deamunas nodded. "Good. First you gather your Chaos magic in your hand." He explained.

I held my hand in the same position as Deamunas had and sent my Chaos energy to my hand. I felt the Chaos powers flow calmly to my hand and coat it in a black and blue glow. I glanced at Deamunas quickly, then back at my hand, afraid to lose the power I had collected. "Like this?" I asked without looking at him.

I could see my friend nod at the edge of my vision. "Exactly." He commended. "Now comes the hard part-" He smirked. "For you. You have to push the Chaos powers out of you hand and gather it in a ball above your palm." He informed me.

I nodded a little. Alright, I could do this! Piece of cake. It was just like with the portal I made in Earthland, which brought Lucy, Loke and I here, shouldn't be much different. I tried pushing the magic in my hand out, but nothing happened. The Chaos magic around my hand stayed around my hand.

I furrowed my eyebrows. What did I do wrong? I closed my eyes and tried to feel the magic in my hand. I found it quite quickly. It felt like a chaotic whirlwind of magic that was nowhere near being tamed. Okay, what I had to do was to tame that whirlwind, then I'd probably have more control over my Chaos magic. Yeah that was. I had to tame a whirlwind.

I inhaled and exhaled deeply to up my focus. I searched for the cause of the whirlwind in my hand. After some searching around, I found it. I focused on pushing the cause of the whirlwind out of the rest of my magic. If the cause was gone, then the whirlwind would disappear too, right? I tried a bit harder and finally got the cause out. Immediately after, the whirlwind died down and I opened my eyes. What I saw surprised me.

Hovering above my hand was a black and bright blue ball, the size of a golf ball.

Basuril jumped and cheered right next to me. "**Awesome Ac-nii-chan!**" He cheered happily. He'd probably be better at it than me.

Deamunas nodded. "Yeah, for you it is a good job." I glared lightly at him. He began smirking. "Now you'll just have to make it bigger and do it so many times it becomes natural, as if you have done it all your life." He added.

I lost my focus and my little golf ball dissipated into thin air. Again? I had to do that _again_? So many times it would become natural too? How many times would I have to do it then? 100 times? More? And bigger? Oh dear Mavis, kill me already.

"Get on with it already." Deamunas ordered and went away to the stone he sat on earlier, leaning his back against it with his hand behind his head, making sure to look _really_ relaxed.

I scowled and sent my magic to my hand. Again.

**At the end of the day~**

**Acnologias' P.O.V**

I held a ball of black and bright blue magic the size of a big handball above my palm.

I'd been creating these magic balls all day, gradually making them bigger and bigger. If you asked me, I thought I'd done a great job. Going from a golf ball to a handball in just a day was quite a feat for me.

I let the ball of energy go and watched as it disappeared. I was just about to create one more, when Deamunas interfered. "**I'd say that's enough for today. Basuril, fly home and get some sleep, it's late.**" Deamunas ordered my cousin. He had changed back to his Dragon form a while ago.

Basuril saluted with his wing. "**Ae (Yes) sir!**" He said as a recruit talking to his lieutenant. Deamunas waved him off and the little guy turned his head to me. "**Goodnight Ac-nii-chan!**" He said while beaming at me and flew away in his hyper-speed before I could say anything.

"**And Acnologia, follow me.**" Deamunas continued. "**I'll take you to your cave.**" He said and turned around, ready to fly.

I wondered how Deamunas' Dragon was. Was it, like mine, an asshole? Or was it nicer?

I nodded and changed to my own Dragon form and followed Deamunas as he flew over the Socubedo forest towards Lucys' and my cave.

How had Lucys' training been today? Had she found her Dragon powers yet or was she still searching? I looked up at the familiar night sky. My training had really run long, it was probably already over 9 Pm, so Lucy was most likely already sleeping. I heard from Glanasile and Dravola that her training was a little more planned than mine was. They'd told me her training ended around 8 Pm.

I looked at Deamunas. "**I think Lucy is asleep in the cave by now, so we'll have to be quiet.**" I told him.

He looked at me over his shoulder. "**Alright, we'll just land a little away from the cave and walk there in our Human form.**" He said as he turned his head forward again. I caught a glimpse of what I would call a smirk just before he turned away. "**Speaking of Lucy, I still haven't seen your special someone. That's wrong, considering I'm your best friend and SIC, don't you think?**" He asked.

I growled under my breath, imagining Lucy in only a little and revealing PJ sleeping. Vulnerable and unable to defend herself against ogling eyes. Not that I had seen her in her PJ. And I wasn't exactly sure why it was revealing either. A man's' imagination I guessed. Although what I had in mind fit her…

I shook my head to get rid of the pictures in my mind. "**Too bad. Maybe some other time, when she's awake.**" I suggested. I wouldn't let Deamunas or anyone else close to Lucy while she was sleeping and defenseless like that.

Deamunas simply nodded and flew on in silence. After a little while, Deamunas slowed down. "**We'll land here.**" He said and began losing altitude, dropping down into the silent forest. I followed without uttering a word and landed next to him.

We changed to Human form almost simultaneously and began walking through the silent and dark forest. "How's she like?" Deamunas suddenly asked.

I looked confusedly at him. "Who?" I asked clueless.

Deamunas face palmed. "Moron." He muttered. "Lucy, who else?" He sighed.

"Oh, right." I nodded. "Well she's very kind." I told him. "She'll do whatever she can to make others happy. She never gives up, she always fight until she can't stand anymore and then a little more." I said. What else? Now I thought about it, I really didn't know Lucy very well. "Uh, she's very forgiving too. I don't think she's able to hate anyone, no matter what." I thought back at the two last days with her. "And from what I understand, she loves all her friend and puts them above everything else." That's what I felt when she told that story of hers yesterday anyway.

Deamunas looked at me with questioning eyes. "You 'think' and 'from what you understand'? Don't you 'know'?" He asked with furrowed eyebrows.

I shook my head. "Káo (No), if you think about it, I've only been with Lucy ten days." I told him.

This seemed to surprise him. "Ten days?" He asked incredulously.

I nodded. "Yeah, I met her when I was 14 and she 10, and we played together for a week in the Heartfilia Mansion. Then 7 years came and went without us meeting each other even once. She showed up near my cave in Earthland two days ago, and put that together with today, we've only been around each other for ten days." I explained.

Deamunas looked forward again. "That's crazy." He muttered.

I nodded again. "Ae (Yes), it is." I agreed.

The trees began to thin out a little and Lucys' and my cave came into sight.

Deamunas gestured towards the cave. "There you go." He looked at me with a smirk adorning his face. "Have a nice night with Lucy~" He told me.

I glared at him. "Thank you." I said sarcastically.

He just nodded and went back into the forest. Not long after, the silence was broken by the sound of him flying away into the silent night.

I stared in the direction Deamunas had flown, until I couldn't hear the flaps of his wings. I turned around and walked towards my cave. I walked through the entrance as quietly as I could and quickly spotted Lucy lying unmoving in the middle of the cave.

I stepped closer and stopped next to her, where I kneeled down.

The faint moonlight bathed the blonde girl in a silver glow. Apart from that, she looked like a mess. Her clothes were al ripped apart and there was a big hole in the shirt, revealing her belly button and the pale skin of her flat stomach around it. There was also smaller holes and ripped parts all around the shirt and the back probably looked the same. Through several of the smaller holes and rips in the shirt, her black lace bra was painfully visible. Nah, more like obvious. Seriously it just drew my attention instantly. I realized my thoughts were taking a rather perverted direction and shove them away.

Lucys' shorts were basically unusable now, much like the shirt, but didn't show off anything inappropriate. Although not much was needed for that to change, they were really short from the beginning. Too short, in my opinion. The funny thing was, even though her clothes were so torn, she didn't have a single bruise anywhere.

Her hair was also messy, half of it sat in the high ponytail she'd made this morning and the rest hung loosely around her. A strand of her golden hair had fallen across her face. I carefully brushed it away behind her ear, making sure she wouldn't wake. I accidentally touched her forehead when I moved the strand of hair and she felt really cold. I put my hand gently on her arm, checking her temperature. That too was really cold. Shit, she would get a cold at this rate.

I quickly pulled my jacket off and laid it over her as a cover.

_You know, that won't be enough, Mini-Me.___An all too familiar voice said in my mind.

"How can you be in my mind, Dragon?" I whispered out loud. Why did he also have to torment me now?

_Since you _finally_ contacted me, I'll be able to communicate with you any time~. _The Dragon said happily.

"Why you..!" I growled with a clenched fist and a vein bulging out at my temple. "Then what do you suggest I do?" I asked in a whisper, careful not to wake my sleeping friend.

_Take her clothes off._ It plainly said. Images of Lucy without clothes instantly popped up in my mind.

"WH-" I was about to yell, but stopped myself before I could begin. "What?!" I whispered loudly. "Why would I do that?" I asked.

_Oh stop being a pervert._ The Dragon snickered. _I only meant the torn shirt. Where did you get that vivid imagination from, by the way? Can't you share some? _It asked with amusement covering its deep voice.

I chose to ignore his question and comments. "Again, why would I do that?" I repeated my earlier question.

The Dragon sighed. _You're so incredibly slow, Mini-Me. _It told me. _Her shirt is too torn to keep her warm, you have to take hers of and give her yours._ It said.

"Right." I said and pulled my jacket off her.

I readied myself to pull off her shirt, when the Dragon interrupted me. _Take your own off first idiot._ It scolded me exasperatedly.

"My own?" I asked dumbly.

The Dragon sighed again. _Ae (Yes) your own shirt, you know, the blue one your wear under your jacket. _It said sarcastically.

"Ae, Ae (Yes, yes), I know, but why?" I whispered. What was that Dragon thinking?

_You are so slow it _hurts_!_ The Dragon yelled in annoyance. _You won't need it since you can change to your Dragon form, and it contains your body-heat, which she needs. So do what you gotta do quickly._ It told me.

I huffed at it and quickly pulled off my shirt. I grabbed the bottom and hesitated to continue. She wouldn't like this, I was sure of it. But then again, who would? It needed to be done though, or she'd get a cold.

_You know, it would be faster if you just ripped it off. _The Dragon chuckled in my mind.

I sighed and began pulling her shirt up. "Ae (Yes), I know, but I won't do that." It wasn't just Lucys' limitations I was stomping on here, it was my own as well.

_Oh, would that be too bold for you?_ The Dragon asked. I didn't answer its question. Ae (Yes), it was too bold for me. I proceeded to pull up her shirt, revealing more and more skin. It went over her big chest covered by that lacy bra. I carefully moved her arms above her head and pulled the shirt off the rest of the way. I threw her torn shirt away and picked my own up. Alright, how was I going to do this?

A golden light appeared on the other side of Lucy and the weird pink-haired maid appeared. She looked at me, then Lucy and back at me again with and ever unchanging straight face. "I think you should be glad it was I and not Brother, who appeared before you with Hime-Sama in this condition." She said monotonously. Who was her 'Brother' again?

"Yeah, who is your Brother?" I asked.

She looked into my eyes with her uncomfortable, piercing blue ones. "You know him by the name 'Loke'." She answered. Yeah I remembered that cat.

I nodded. "Okay, well… I guess you're right, but Lucy is cold and needs warmth." I told the maid, holding my shirt a little higher.

She looked at it and back at me with a faint smile. "So you decided to take advantage of your own body-heat for the cause." She asked with an even fainter hint of amusement.

I looked away from her eyes and nodded. "Yeah. Can you help me?" I asked.

She nodded. "Yes, I'll help. I'll keep Hime-Sama sitting up and you'll put her shirt on." She ordered.

I nodded again, not sure what else to do as the maid got Lucy up in a sitting position. It was a wonder she didn't wake up.

I got Lucys' hands through the sleeves and slid it down over her head and let it fall down itself the rest of the way. It was much too big for her. The shirt, which was a t-shirt for me, its sleeves fell to her elbow and otherwise looked more or less like a dress on her. It was far less revealing than any of the other clothes she owned though.

I looked at the maid in front of me. "Thank you." I said.

She shook her head. "No need to thank me, it's my duty as Lucys' Spirit to make sure she is okay." She informed me. She looked at the leather jacket next to me. "What about that one?" She asked, nodding to the jacket.

I picked it up and threw it around her shoulders. "There." I leaned back, sitting on my legs.

The maid nodded. "Thank you for taking care of Hime-Sama." She said as she laid Lucy down again.

"No problem." I answered as I watched the two.

The maid looked at me and saluted. "Until next time, Acnologia-sama." She said. "Oh, and I'll keep this from Brother." She winked as she disappeared.

"Thanks?" I said to the empty cave. It accidentally came out as a question. I got on my feet and looked down at my sleeping friend.

_Would you do something about her hair? It's a shame that those golden locks of hers are so messy. _The Dragon broke in.

I nodded, too tired to do anything else. The days' events had finally caught up to me and I felt just how much magic I had used. I quickly pulled off the ribbon which held some of her hair in place. The now loose strands fell softly to the ground around her. Her hair was so soft, almost like silk. I held the weird, white ribbon in my hand. Somehow, it reminded me of Dragon scales. It had a weird smell hanging around it. Ash and flames, much like Igneels'.

Igneel. His son. Natsu Dragneel. Fairy Tail.

I put together the pieces and quickly realized she'd gotten it from that bastard who dared to hurt her. I was just about to rip it to pieces when I looked at Lucy. She probably loved this thing, if she didn't, she wouldn't have worn it. Maybe it was the only reminder of Fairy Tail and the people she held dear there.

I laid the ribbon back down near her head instead. I couldn't destroy that, it was something special to her.

I sighed and stepped back. I let the usual glow of black and blue engulf me and changed to my Dragon form.

I curled up around Lucy, my stomach touching her. I thought that maybe I could keep her warmer that way. I used my own back as a shield against the wind, letting it face the entrance of the cave.

I closed my eyes and relaxed, getting ready to fall asleep, when a certain line popped up in my head. 'You love Lucy, so I love Lucy'. That was what the Dragon had said earlier in my mind. 'Love'. Did I really _love_ Lucy? Wasn't it a little too fast to say that? Káo (No), I did love Lucy, I realized. It was a feeling I had deep down in my stomach. It was fast, but it was nonetheless genuine.

I loved Lucy.

And with that in mind, I let the sleep overtake me.

**Sooo, a bit of a realization here in the end. Now it's official, Acnologia loves Lucy. Yeah, now what to do next….**

**Oh and, what did you think of the fight scene here? It was my first, might I add, so I would absolutely LOVE to know what you guys thought of it. It takes about 1.595 words, not that I checked or anything.**

**I think this was my longest chapter so far, almost 10.000 words, just the story, without A/N and all. Amazing, isn't it?**

**Thanks to BecauseIamSoBored, mjb376, Ft LOVER (Guest), 00halfblood, albalion, PhycoticDREAMER, Finnish and PROUD, kaleyvaughn3, Shinigami Ou, darkrith, amuletspade1, sladaris, FearMyLaserFace, xMagicMayhem, akane1chan, FireDemonSlayer, bronzitewolf, michiruchama, XxKurayami, Poison Bat, KuroMuun, clumzybeans, sTaRAlPhAhOsHi, Paname, AngelaEienni, shiro heartfilia and all you other readers for reading, favoriting, following and/or reviewing! It is MUCH appreciated, believe me. ^_^**

**~Line464d**


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

**Okay, so this one is for REACHING ABOVE 200 FOLLOWERS! As always, you guys are AMAZING, WONDERFUL, FAN-**_**TAS**_**-TIC (For the DW fans), AWESOME, BRILLIANT AND ALL THE OTHERS, WHICH I CAN'T REMEMBER RIGHT NOW…. Gomenasai minna! **

**I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made! R&R!**

**Disclaimer: Slowpoke? Well, Slowpoke still owns Fairy Tail.**

**In the Cave – Dragon Realm**

**Acnologias' P.O.V**

I woke up, still feeling tired but not able to sleep any longer. I hated that kind of mornings. I blinked a few times to clear both my vision and my mind. I looked down at the girl that seemed so tiny and vulnerable when I was in my Dragon form. She was still sleeping so it was probably still early in the morning. Her training was probably much tougher than mine, if her clothes were anything to go by. Well, it wasn't exactly the most appropriate clothing she'd chosen, but even then I wondered what could have made that big hole on her stomach. Had she been taking hits, so she would have a better resistance and stamina when she was in close combat? Or was it for some completely other reason? Had a Sky Dragon healed her? I guessed it was Grandine, since only she could heal someone so perfectly and without leaving even the smallest indication of a scratch behind. She also was the only Sky Dragon who knew about Lucy, so it really couldn't be anyone else.

But then that made me wonder why Grandine would even be necessary. It made me wonder how battered Lucy had been.

I moved my tail closer to her, as if that could prevent her from going out again. It wouldn't though, Lucy was too determined to get stronger and why would I stop her? It was a choice she had made even before we reunited.

The desire to get stronger lay way back, actually. She'd wanted to be strong mage of Fairy Tail as soon as she had heard about them.

**Acnologias' memory – Seven years ago**

**Acnologias' P.O.V**

"_Look Acnologia, it's Fairy Tail!" A little blonde girl with golden hair and warm, brown eyes said and pointed at the Lacrima TV. It was one of those commercials about the guilds, as the humans called it, which should make you want to join the different guilds._

_I'd learned that the Fairy Tail guild was Lucy's' favorite. It was also the strongest guild around. And most destructive._

_I nodded and smiled at the girl. "Yeah, I can see it. It's your favorite, right?" I asked rhetorically. We'd only know each other for a day and she'd told me that a million times already._

"_Yeah! I wanna join one day and then I'll be as strong as Natsu and Erza! Stronger than both of them together!" She said excitedly and acting as if she had a sword in her hand like the red-head, Erza, I believed. She switched to a more serious expression, imitating Erza in the TV and pointed her non-existent sword at the TV, just as the red-head did. "Fairy Tail is a place for everyone. Come join today." She said, mimicking Erzas' posture, expression and voice perfectly._

_I chuckled at my little friend. She'd watched that commercial too many times. And so had I._

_First time I saw it yesterday, I was surprised by how young they all seemed. Lucy had told me that the youngsters, which had been shown, were the 'new generation' and that no one would come if they only showed the old farts. I had laughed at those words, but agreed, it probably wasn't old people they wanted to attract._

_Lucy quickly grabbed my hand with her tiny one and pulled me out of my, towards the door. "Come on Acnologia, we're going to play Fairy Tail!" She said happily and with a beaming smile over her shoulder. Then she focused on pulling me after her again._

'_Fairy Tail' was a game we'd played a lot. It was where we each were a member of Fairy Tail, of her choosing, and had a battle with non-existent magic. I'd basically learnt about every of her favorite members after she had repeatedly explained who each of them were and what kind of magic they used._

_I relented and let her pull me after her. "Okay, who am I then?" I asked as she pulled me out of the back door and into their gigantic garden._

_She looked at me back over her shoulder – again – and smiled widely at me - again. I wasn't sure if I liked that smile or not. "I'm Natsu and you're Gray." She told me._

_I sighed inwardly. So I was the stripping idiot, huh? Although he had pretty cool magic. Nothing like fathers' though. "Alright."_

_She ran, a little restrained due to her long dress, to a spot a little away and pointed at a spot at my right. "You can go there." She said._

_I nodded and walked to the spot she pointed on. "Here?" I asked to be sure that I was at the right spot._

_She nodded. "Yes – I'm all fired up!" She said and raised her fist in the air, like when Natsu lit it on fire – she told me._

_I smiled and raised my own fist similar to hers. "Bring it, Flame Head." I said in what I believed to be Gray-like. _

_She broke out laughing and shook her head. "No, it's like _this_." She laughed and brought her fist down on her open palm._

_Oh right, that was the way that stripper stood. I quickly changed my posture to the two-handed Ice Make position. "Alright then, bring it on." I smiled._

**Back in the cave**

**Acnologias' P.O.V**

I was really a year ago; it still felt like that single week was just a few days ago.

I'd known everything about the plans the Head Dragons had for the two of us and why too, when I met her. I had known as soon as they had figured it all out. My father had always told me about how there was one girl waiting to meet me, even if she didn't know herself. He told me how much he had loved Layla, the-girl-who-was-waiting-for-me's mother, but also how the love of his life had fallen for a human. He told me how that human forbade Layla from transforming to her Dragon form, which I knew was the same as Hell. I had asked him why Layla hadn't just run away and he told me it was because she loved the human, even though he did all that. He would have gone through the same, if that would have made her happy. Love made people do crazy things, he told me. Back then I had just thought he was crazy, but now I understood. Very well at that too.

I'd always thought it all to be too fairytale-ish, didn't quite believe that a girl could be waiting for me, but father kept insisting and I kept away from other girls, to make father happy and proud. He often told me stories about Layla, the adventures the two of them had gone through. Apparently he and Layla were childhood friends, much like Lucy and I, but on other conditions and they saw each other every day. She was a sweet, naïve girl with lots of energy and a heart unable to hate anyone. Lucy was so very like her, all the same traits.

I tried my best to keep away from any girl; I wanted nothing to do with them. It was all for my father and the girl who was waiting for me. But one girl had managed to break through. The only girl who was too stubborn to give up, refusing to lose.

That was Chylirobi Kapura, of course. The only female friend I had in my young days.

In the start, she had tried to approach me, but I had just refused and walked away from her. Later she tried again, with the same result, and again and again and again, until it just became too much and I was a real douche and pushed her away, literally. She yelled at me and asked why I had to be such an asshole, when all she ever tried to do was to be nice and my friend. She walked away with her head held high and her back straight.

Her words had hit something in me and the next day, I'd apologized to her. She had said everything was fine and that I probably had my reasons for doing what I did. I'd nodded and told her everything about the girl who waited for me. Somehow the thing with Laylas' daughter had become a heavy burden I'd been carrying around and I just needed to tell it to someone.

Chylirobi had been very understanding and listened to everything I told her. She told me how similar her own situation was. Her father had since she was little already found who he thought she should mate with and had ordered her to stay away from other boys, so she wouldn't get other ideas.

She'd been a little rebel and had made a lot of male friends in the dark, without her father knowing, of course. She told me that she soon wanted to tell her father that it was none of his business, who she was going to mate.

Even though I didn't want to rebel against my own father, her words were still strong and they made me rethink basically everything. I decided that I would back this Fire Dragon up whenever she stood up to her father, if she wanted me to. When I told her as much, she had become overly happy and almost hugged me to death. Which made it the first time I had been touched by a girl my age. And I was just about 9 then.

Chylirobi and I began playing together a lot, without telling any of our parents. It sent a thrill down out spines every time, because it wasn't completely allowed. Which also made it more fun. We quickly became each other's best friend, but never more than that.

Finally she told me she would tell her father what she thought. We were both only 12 years old then and we both had minds beyond our age, which in itself was something.

She brought me along with her to her father, and only me. She told me she didn't need anyone but me to back her up. Her father was a big Dragon, I don't remember much else. And he didn't like what Chylirobi told him, or the fact that I was with her. He got really mad and almost kicked me out, but Chylirobi stopped him. She asked him what made him think that he was supposed to choose her mate, what made him think it was his choice and not hers. When her father had no reply, she continued. She wanted to know why her father wanted her to mate someone she didn't love, why he would make her bind her life to someone she didn't even know, why she didn't mean something to him.

Tears were streaming down her cheeks in the end. I remember her father changing form and enveloping her in his embrace, muttering an apology.

That was where I felt it was time to go, and so I did. Leaving the two of them to figuring the last out between themselves.

A few days later, Chylirobis' father had come to my father personally, to thank him for having me take care of his daughter. I was afraid what my father would say, but all I could see in his eyes was mild surprise and something else. Pride.

I didn't know exactly what my father was thinking, so I muttered an apology when the Fire Dragon had left. My father had been confused as to what I was apologizing for and when I explained I was sorry for being friends with a girl, he just laughed. He had never said that I couldn't be friends with other girls, only that there was one waiting for me in Earthland, the human realm, and that I'd have to meet her before I made a decision.

Realizing I'd gone too far down Memory Lane, I came back to reality and looked outside, where the few leaves I could see from where I was in the cave, were bathed in a warm, golden light.

It was still early, so I dropped my head to the floor and closed my eyes, waiting for the day to begin. Deamunas would first wake up in the middle of the day. I was usually like that too, but today was different for some reason.

There was still a lot of time to test my patience in.

**Later~**

**Lucys' P.O.V**

"Hime-Sama, wake up." Someone shook me lightly out of my slumber. I groaned a little and turned my back to it. Suddenly I felt a déjà vu. I shuddered. Creepy. "Hime-Sama please get up." Apparently I had turned the wrong way.

I opened my eyes and looked into Virgos' extremely blue eyes. "Virgo." I stated, while I blinked a few times. "What are you doing here?" I asked drowsily.

"I woke you up so you can take a bath in the river before Alodiculis comes by." She explained monotonously. "Punishment?" she then added.

Virgo, oh Virgo. I smiled at my unchanging Maiden Spirit. "No, thank you though, Virgo." I looked down at myself, about to ask if she had brought some new clothes instead of the torn ones I was already wearing, when I found myself in a blue t-shirt, which was way too big for me. "Virgo, what is this?" I asked, while noticing the leather jacket on the ground behind me. It didn't take long for me to put two and two together.

The corner of my Spirits' mouth twitched slightly upwards. "That is Acnologia-samas' shirt and jacket." She stated.

Acnologias' scent welled over me just as she said that and I inhaled his scent of a wet forest. I nodded. "Yeah, but why am I wearing it?" I asked. More like how.

A glint appeared in my Spirits' eyes. "When I appeared in the evening, because I could feel you were cold, I had decided to lie next to you, skin against skin to heat you up-" I widened my eyes. What was she thinking? Was she turning into a pervert of some kind? She had probably been too much with Taurus. "But when I appeared, Acnologia was already on it." What? Had he had the same idea as Virgo? "He told me he had decided to take off his own shirt and replace it with yours to warm you up with his own lingering body heat on the shirt." I sighed inwardly in relief. Acnologia wasn't going to… Uh… Yeah. Do _that._ And Virgo had probably taken over and changed my clothes herself. I could handle it much better if she had done it.

"So I helped him getting it off." She said monotonously as always. I looked at her in horror and my face heating up quickly. S-s-she h-had let h-him t-t-ta-ta… ARGH! No. That just didn't happen! I hid my face in my hands to hide my warm cheeks. "Hime-Sama, punishment?" She asked again.

I really considered it this time, but shook my head. I would never do anything to hurt my Spirits. "No." I took a deep breath to cam myself down and looked up again. "Have you brought some new clothes?" I asked to change the topic.

She nodded. "Yes." She handed me the clothes and towel she had in her arms. "Summon me when you're done." She saluted and disappeared.

Well, great.

I looked at the sleeping Dragon Next to me. He'd done it with good intentions, I knew that. At least he didn't crawl through my window and into my bed while I was sleeping. It was nice of him though, he didn't want me to freeze.

I took his shirt off and folded it neatly next to his big head, with his jacket on top of it. I spotted the ribbon I had worn lying on the ground next to where I had been sleeping just moments ago. It was a ribbon I had gotten from Natsu during a mission. We had been dealing with some thugs and one of them, unfortunately for him, ripped off a part of Natsus' scarf. Natsu had been so mad, madder than I'd ever seen him and he beat the poor guy down in the ground. Literally. After the battle, and when Natsu had calmed down a bit, he gave it to me and said that maybe I could use it as a ribbon or something. And so I have. It was one of those things I just couldn't throw away. I knew how much Natsu loved that scarf of his; he might as well have given me a part of himself, so I couldn't simply leave it behind.

Putting the ribbon on top of all of my clean clothes, I went to the Dragon and kissed him lightly on his snout. "Thank you." I whispered. I didn't know why I did it; it just felt right, somehow.

I went out of the cave silently, giving the sleeping Dragon a last glance and quickened my pace towards the river. I was only walking around with a bra and a pair of shorts after all.

It didn't take long to reach it and I quickly threw away my remaining destroyed clothes. I submerged myself in the water in the river. It was nice and cool, not too deep either, and the stream wasn't strong at all. It was the opposite actually; it was gentle and almost caring. Put all that together, and one could safely assume I was comfortable in the beautiful water of the river. There weren't any waves, just to make it all the much better, the water was just calmly flowing along in the river, which was several times bigger than any river in Earthland.

I found a rock which protruded out of the river-bank, which was going up sharply at the sides. The stone was big, I could easily lie down on my back on it and there would still be space left. I closed my eyes and leaned back on the edge of the river bank, enjoying the wonderful water I was sitting in and the beautiful nature around me.

I had almost dozed off when I heard two splashes on either side of me. I opened my eyes in alarm and looked at the two ladies on both of my sides.

At my right, there was a beautiful young woman, looking around the age of 25, but I knew looks could be deceiving after what Alodiculis told me the other day. She had pale skin, but not white. Her hair was long and curly all black, but with a hint of purple where it reflected the sun. She wore ivory white nail polish, which, might I add, fit her perfectly, and made her nail seem a little like claws. Her face was feminine, but had a hint of danger, a sure shot to make every guy look after her in the streets, which her dark ivory white eyes didn't help with.

At my left, there was another young woman, who also looked about 25. Her skin had a warm sun-brown color, which almost glowed. Her hair was wavy and a royal blue color, a little darker than Wendys'. The outer hair from her forehead and sides were pulled back to the back of her head, where it was held in place with a metal ring with beautiful patterns, and from it, her hair was loosely braided, which faded out in the end. The rest of the hair fell freely around her flowing calmly with the waves. She had a very feminine face and beautiful, purple eyes.

I recognized both women. "Skyadrum, Amelane." I stated, just to say something.

Skyadrum flashed me a grin. "Te áheitanga katoa (Hello) Lucy, hope you don't mind if we join you?" She asked.

I flashed her a bright smile. "No, not at all." I told them. I really had to look those words up sometime, I wished I had brought that dictionary Moustache-Man gave me the other day. "Why are the two of you here?" I asked the somewhat obvious question, although I already had a good idea.

"I wanted to talk with you about your aunt, Silvia, and when I told Skyadrum, she wanted to tag along." Amelane explained.

I nodded, so I was right. Again. I looked at the human – no Dragon – and she wore a serious expression. "So why doesn't my aunt like me?" I asked flat out.

Amelane sighed. "Well, it isn't exactly _you_ she doesn't like…" She trailed off.

Skyadrum took over for her. "It's you mother, Layla, she doesn't like." She said. More like didn't.

I looked confused at the Shadow Dragon. Why didn't Silvia like my mother? "Why?" I asked dumbly. All I'd ever known my mother as was perfect. Who wouldn't like her? So the fact that Silvia didn't like her stunned me more than it probably should.

"It's a long story, really." Amelane said slowly.

I turned my head to her. "Alodiculis can wait." I said eager to know about everything.

Skyadrum giggled a little girlishly for her otherwise fierce appearance. "He sure can." She agreed. "Well it started from when they were children." Skyadrum started. Layla was the older of the two and so she was the one of them who was supposed to take over the Head Dragon spot from their father, Sahyragino Mau'Te Rongo." She explained.

So that would be my grandfather on my mothers' side. Sahyragino. What was he like? Would I still be able to meet him or was it too late?

"Layla was taught about the position as a Head Dragon. How to behave, the paperwork, the SIC, how she should do certain things, how to avoid other things and many other things regarding Head Dragon. And she was exceptional at it all. Silvia wasn't taught those things, but she often listened to everything Layla was taught. Silvia had always wanted to be a Head Dragon, whereas Layla didn't find it so intriguing." Amelane told me.

I could relate to that, my childhood had also been to learn the aristocratic way of life, which wasn't so extremely exciting to me.

"Silvia became jealous of Layla, because why did she, who didn't care for the title of a Head Dragon get lessons and be depended on to be one? Why wasn't it she, herself, the one who was supposed to be the one, when she cared and wanted to be one?" Amelane continued.

"One day, when Silvia had had enough, she asked her father those questions. Her father simply replied that Layla was more fit to be a Head Dragon precisely because she didn't want to and she was the first born as well." Skyadrum told me. I could see what he meant; she would be fairer to everyone, despite their statuses, when she didn't even care for her own. "Silvia began to be more and more envious of Layla and began to hate her, because Layla always had to be so perfect. Always had to exceed her in everything. Beauty, intelligence, social life, personality. And on top of that, she also had their fathers' attention." Skyadrum smiled faintly as she explained. "Soon enough, Layla found a Celestial key here in the Dragon Realm. She had read a little about them and knew what they could do, so she tried it out. Of course, it worked and she called out a Spirit. She went to her father and showed it to him. He was very proud of her, that she could do that. When Silvia tried it out though, it didn't work; she couldn't call out the Spirit." She said and glanced to me. "Maybe I should add that it isn't normal for a Dragon to have human magic, and especially not Holder Magic."

"Layla had always had a good friend from the Chaos Clan, since she was a little girl actually." Amelane said. "It was Kurama Tehepo, Acnologias' father, and they often played as children and were often together as adults." She explained. "Silvia hated her sister so much for everything and anything and they were rarely seen together. Many would say she at the time was almost blinded by her hatred."

"But then she fell in love." Skyadrum said, faking a dreamy, girlish expression and voice. "In a certain Chaos Dragon too. " She then said with a hint in her words. I gaped at her. No, it couldn't be… "Kurama Tehepo, of course, Laylas' best friend." Skyadrum continued. Of course it just had to be Acnologias' father. Mamas' decided mate.

"Ae (Yes), Sahyragino had already pulled back from his spot as Head Dragon and let Layla take over. It was known that he was searching for a mate for his oldest daughter." Amelane continued the story. "Then Kurama became the Chaos Clans' Head Dragon, and that Dragon caught his eye. He knew that the two Clans had often had their squabbles and wanted to put an end to that. He also knew that the Chaos Dragon and his daughter were really good friends. So he spoke with Kurama and the other Dragon was willing to meet the Peace Head Dragon in a completely other way." Amelane said. I wondered how a father could such thing to his daughter, thinking of Silvias' feelings.

"None of them knew of Silvias' infatuation obviously, since she hadn't told anyone about it at all." Skyadrum reassured me. I let out a breath of relief, fearing that my grandfather had been a monster and found out he hadn't. "Layla and Kurama went on a date of sorts, with her father watching their progress in the dark. There was a great chemistry between the two and it is said that Kurama fell head over heels for Layla."

"Sahyragino noticed their good chemistry and after asking Kurama if he wanted to, he announced that Layla and Kurama would mate, to end the problems between the two Clans and unite them." Skyadrum continued with a frown.

Amelane nodded. "Layla wasn't entirely happy with her fathers' decision, but instead of saying or doing anything, she sought to find another solution." She said. "When Silvia heard of her sisters' and the man she loved's announced mating, she became furious. Not only had Layla taken the position as the Head Dragon from her, she had also taken the heart of the man she loved."

Skyadrum rolled her eyes at Amelane. "Always so dramatic." She smiled a little. "Then, as the Head Dragons went to Earthland to check that everything was fine, Layla fell over Jude and when the Head Dragons made to leave, Layla told us she wanted to stay behind, because she had fallen in love. We tried to convince her to come with us back to the Dragon Realm, and especially Kurama tried hard, but she refused and we let her go." Skyadrum said slowly as she probably remembered the whole thing.

Amelane looked down in the clear water with sorrow in her eyes. "When Sahyragino found out about this, he was about to go get her back, but surprisingly Kurama held him back, asking if he wanted his daughter to be happy or not. Sahyragino followed what Kurama was indicating and let his older daughter be with the human." Amelane sighed. "Kurama was crushed the next many months, and the SIC he had did all the work for him. I don't think the poor guy ever completely recovered from it, always blaming himself for not being good enough. Silvia gained the Head Dragon spot pretty quickly after, but she never really could fill Laylas' spot." She said and glanced at me. "I believe you know the rest of the story from then on."

I nodded, not looking at either of them. This was such a tragic story, both for Kurama and Silvia. "So that's why, I understand now." I muttered lowly, knowing both of them would understand what I meant.

Skyadrum simply nodded and Amelane sat with a solemn expression. They'd seen it all first hand; it probably was much harder to talk about for them than any outsider.

Amelane suddenly smiling widely, looking at me. "Let me do your hair for you." She suggested kindly.

I nodded, not entirely sure what she would do or why, but trusted her. All I had to do today was looking for my hidden Dragon magic, being beat down by Loke and have my Second Origin opened.

I turned my back to the Water Dragon to give her more space to work with my hair. I looked into Skyadrums' ivory eyes, which were smiling. "I almost forgot." She said.

Forgot what, I wondered. I felt my hair being soaked and looked down at my reflection in the water. My hair lay in an orb of water, controlled by Amelane. I furrowed my eyebrows. "What are you doing Amelane?" I asked.

Amelane simply smiled and said. "Wait and see."

I did as I was told and watched my reflection. Slowly the orb of water changed color to the blonde of my hair. At some point, you couldn't see through the water because it had turned so blonde.

"I'm just returning your hair to what it's supposed to be." Amelane finally said vaguely. 'Restoring'? 'What it's supposed to be'? What did she mean? I felt the water disappearing and looked down at my reflection in amazement. My hair was no longer blonde, like it had always been, no, it was a beautiful silver color, which was nothing _near_ gray, mind you, and it glistened in the sun. "Wh-wha?" I asked dumbly, staring at my reflection.

Skyadrum giggled. "It's beautiful, right?" She smiled.

"Yeah, but… Why?" I asked, not able to form whole sentences. I knew there was a deeper meaning with all of this, but it was still so weird. How could she just pull out the blonde color as if it was some random dye?

"It's your natural hair-color, Lucy." Amelane said behind me. I turned look at her for an answer. "When your father figured out your mother was a Dragon, he wanted her to erase any and all traces of her Dragon nature. Layla was also silver-haired like you, but she dyed it blonde, because the blonde color is somewhat similar to the silver in some ways. To keep color unchanging, she infused magic in." Amelane explained. That _old_ man… It was just a hair-color! "When you were born, you had the same beautiful silver hair-color as your mothers' naturally was and since neither your mother nor your father had silver hair, yours was dyed in the same way, with magic." Amelane continued.

"If you're wondering, the spell made sure the new hair which grew out, would also be the same golden, blonde color, so no one would be suspicious. You included." Skyadrum added quickly. She was right. I was a quite curious person. I wasn't like _Papa_ went in and dyed it while I was sleeping. At least I hoped not.

"Alright… That's… Weird. I don't think I'll get used to this anytime soon, but it's very beautiful." I stated looking down at my reflection again.

Skyadrum smiled. "We don't expect you to either, take your time." She reassured me.

I nodded and a faint sound of flapping wings alarmed me that Alodiculis would soon be there. While I was sitting in the river. Naked. "_Shit_." I muttered as I jumped out of the water and hurriedly put on my clothes. That conversation had taken longer than I had first thought.

Skyadrum laughed at me as she changed to her Dragon form, Amelane doing the same. Apparently they hadn't worn clothes at all. "**See you later, Lucy.**" Skyadrum as she spread her ripped wings, ready to fly.

I smiled at her while putting on my clothes in record time. "Yeah, thank you for sharing." I said, knowing they'd get what I meant. They nodded and smiled as they flew away. I sighed, why did everything have to happen so fast? Couldn't I even get a small breather?

**Later~ With the Spirit King**

**Lucys' P.O.V**

Training had gone on pretty smoothly so far, not so many causalities as yesterday.

With Alodiculis – Capricorn wasn't there this time, having other things to take care of in the Spirit World – I'd gotten absolutely no result in finding my Dragon powers, really. He had complimented my hair a little, with a smile, but hadn't said anything otherwise.

Loke on the other hand had freaked out, using a half an hour on asking questions, making me retell what Skyadrum and Amelane told me, while playing with my now silver hair, pissing me off in the end. He told me he liked it though and thought it fit me even more than the blonde, just that it needed some getting used to, which I had agreed with. I think he realized he went a little too far yesterday somehow and instead tried a different approach to it all. Instead he taught me some different moves to block and attack and testing them out, correcting the countless mistakes I made. He told me we'd start out there and then gradually do it like we started out with, when I was ready for it.

So now I was with the Spirit King, getting ready to open the Second Origin. He'd already explained everything. Second Origin was basically a big container of our magic, which was completely untouched for everyone, unless they got it opened just like I was about to. I didn't think he thought that the Second Origin was what those stars were talking about, but just wouldn't say it. Something about the way he acted just told me so. I'd find out though, I just needed some time to think it over.

"**It'll be very painful Lucy; you probably won't be able to do much the rest of the day.**" Moustache-Man told me.

I nodded Yes, I knew. Wait, maybe I should begin saying 'Ae' (Yes), instead, I was a Dragon after all. Ae (yes), I'd looked the words up. Apparently I'd gotten the nickname 'The Lost one'. I guess it fitted me.

"**If you're ready, I'll begin.**" Moustache-Man said.

I nodded again. "I'm ready." I reassured him.

He gave me a last glance. He obviously didn't want to do this, he'd also tried to talk me out of it, but I would have none of it. Ae (Yes), it was going to be a little painful, maybe, I could take it. I didn't expect my training to be painless; it was supposed to be rough. Besides, I can't count how times I'd been roasted by Natsus' flames or frozen by Grays' ice. I'd clearly survived that, so what would a little extra be?

There I went again, drawing Fairy Tail into everything. Why couldn't I just be over them? For time being at least. Not forever.

I already knew the answer to that though. Because I loved them. Because I loved them, I couldn't let them go. Even if they ignored me for so long, I had already forgiven them. Except for three persons and a Neko. Obviously those would be Erza, Gray, Happy and most of all Natsu.

Natsu. I'd thought we were best friends. I thought nothing was supposed to be able to separate us. I thought that I meant more to him. That what we had, the adventures we'd had, both good and bad, were stronger than this.

Apparently I was wrong. Dead wrong. We might have had been best friends, but the reality was we never were. I might have meant something to him, but obviously not enough. We had had many adventures, but they couldn't the adventures he'd had with Lisanna. I would never be able to be anything more to him than Lisanna was. I was way outclassed.

And it saddened me. Too much for my own liking, in fact. I missed all the times I'd had with Natsu and the team. Also when he broke into my house late at night and snuck into my bed. I know I might have said that I hated it, but the month after we had returned from Edolas, the bed had been so cold and I often found myself missing Natsus' unnatural body-heat.

I still kind of did.

_Face it Lucy, you loved the moron._ A faint, barely audible voice said. I didn't care where it originated from; I was too preoccupied with my thoughts. Maybe it was right. Maybe I _did_ love Natsu. But that would be in past tense. Looking back at everything now, it was quite obvious I had, I just hadn't realized it. I did now though, but it was too late. I didn't love the fire breathing idiot anymore.

"**Lucy?**" The Spirit King asked, throwing me out of my rather depressing thoughts.

I turned my head and briefly at him before shaking my head to clear the fog of thoughts. "Sorry, I'm back now." I apologized with a small smile. I found no reason to share what I had thought with him, so I kept my mouth sealed.

"**Good then.**" He smiled back. He didn't ask what I had been thinking about, which was a relief. "**It would be better if you sit.**" He gestured for me to sit on the ground in front of him.

I did as was told and sat on the ground on my butt. I signaled to him with a nod that he could begin. He sat in front of me and extended his hands out, palms facing me. Then he closed his eyes and began humming a little, soon enough, his hands glowed in a faint golden light. The light expanded and formed a big '8' lying down and the holes filled. It began flowing out of his two palms and towards me.

I looked at it in amazement as it flowed closer. Everything around the two of us seemed to turn dark and the only light was the magic around the Spirit Kings' hands. The magic moved slowly, but surely. When it finally touched me, it flowed into me above my heart in my chest. The magic was warm and nice and sent a wave of comfort through me wherever it went.

The Spirit King hummed a little louder and the light intensified and made me glow with it. "**There.**" He muttered, keeping his eyes closed. He leaned forward and pushed his magic into me in a faster pace and in a certain spot around my stomach.

It sent a jolt through me when his magic, which he had covered me in, began to retreat down to my stomach. My own magic began reacting to the sudden shift and coursed around in my body in an almost painful speed.

The Spirit Kings' magic pooled in my stomach, being somewhat still, until he thought that he had collected enough magic and began his work. His magic began moving as one unity and tried splitting my organs apart.

That probably wasn't the reality of the situation, but it was what it felt like. Whatever he was doing sent waves of pain through me and confused my own magic, so it flew around at random, pushing at places it had not pushed before, sending smaller jolts of pain throughout my entire being.

The Spirit King kept pushing his magic into me, if not faster than before, trying to split whatever he was splitting. The force he used intensified and the pain bolted through me, much harder than before. It hurt so much I wasn't even able to scream it out.

I felt myself begin to sink down to the ground, but was unable to do anything to save myself from falling. I fell to my side and rolled to my back, still unable to do anything at all.

Then, in a flash of pure agony, Moustache-Man split that something apart. At the same time, the agony was so painful; my voice broke through whatever barrier held it back. I arched my back and shrieked in pain. I was sure every Dragon in the Dragon Realm was able to hear me. That was how loud I felt I was screaming.

A new magic flowed out of where Moustache-Man had split that something up. It was both familiar and highly foreign at the same time.

The new magic began mingling with my old magic. At first, nothing seemed wrong and my muscles automatically calmed with the absence of pain, but then they began merging with each other, fighting for dominance.

The merging pushed every nerve everywhere, none was left out. My back arched again and I moved in pained and incontrollable spasms. I had lost control of everything unwillingly and high pitched shrieks of agony rippled through and out my throat. Not as loud as the first one, but loud enough.

The war in me continued raging, even if I wished with all my heart for it to stop. My wishes had no influence on anything right now though. I wanted nothing else than the pain to stop. I couldn't see, hear or feel anything except the pain and my own agonizing screams.

The war of dominance seemed to rage for an eternity, probably because I had lost all sense of time. The pain was continuous and unwavering all the time.

Finally, after I don't know how long, the pain died down a little. Not completely, but what was remaining was insignificant compared to what I'd just gone through. Everything I'd been through was water next to this. I knew I'd been warned, but this was so much more than I had expected it to be. I was just about to slip into the darkness of unconsciousness, when I felt water get thrown in my head.

My eyes shot open wide and I jumped up in a sitting position, despite the wave of pain that washed through me.

"You're not dying on me Lucy. Not now." A firm female voice said. The voice was unmistakable, but I never thought I had ever heard that voice so filled with sorrow.

I looked up into the deep ocean-blue eyes surrounded by light blue hair of my Mermaid Spirit, Aquarius. Her eyes showed a deep fear and sorrow which I had never seen Aquarius express ever. I wondered what could make her make that face. Surely it wasn't for me.

Suddenly I realized what she had said and widened my eyes. My vision didn't get less blurry by that though. "What? You called me 'Lucy', not 'bitch' or-" My words were cut off by a fit of coughs. My voice was weak and shaky almost not even hearable for even myself.

"S-sorry, but you m-must not speak t-t-too much, Lucy. P-please lie down again." A timid voice said to my right. I turned my head and looked at Aries with my blurred sight. "S-sorry!" She added timidly.

I smiled at her and tried to reach out to her to reassure her I was alright, when I found myself unable to move my hand more than a tiny twitch. Aries seemed to notice what I was trying to do and took my hand in both of hers and smiled at me. I quickly covered the flash of pain I felt from her touching me and moving my arm. Two hands gripped my shoulders from behind carefully and gently pushed me down on the soft ground, which also hurt a lot.

Wait, 'soft ground'? I glanced down at the 'ground'. It was the same color as Aries' hair and fluffy. It was Aries' wool. I thanked her in my mind, not trusting my own, weak voice.

The gentle hands pushed me down so I lay on my back on the soft wool. I looked with a not quite as blurred vision at the owner of those hands. Loke looked down at me with worried eyes. "Just lie down Princess. You are in no condition to move around." He told me.

I nodded slowly, but cringed in pains just as I began. My Lion was right as always. Instead I just smiled at him, to which he just gave a small smile in return.

I wondered why they all were here and tried to ask him with my eyes. Loke looked confusedly at me, obviously not understanding what I was trying to say. Someone else knew though.

Aquarius huffed exasperatedly. "Idiot Lion. She's asking you why we're here." She told Loke.

Lokes' face lit up in realization. "Oh, the Spirit King came back an hour ago and told us you might need us." Loke said. An hour? Had it really only been an hour? "At first we didn't understand, but then the intense pain you went through crashed down on us." He said slowly and shuddered. "We all came immediately." He added with the smallest smile I'd ever seen him wear. Never did he remove his hands from my shoulders.

"I gave you some medicine against the pain, Hime-Sama." An unmistakable monotone voice said. "Is it time for my punishment?" Virgo asked as usual.

I tried to giggle, but it sounded really creepy, so I stopped immediately and looked down at her.

And all my other Spirits.

They all came? Just for me? I felt my eyes water up just at the thought of it.

"Moshi-moshi Lucy-dono." Sagittarius greeted.

"Are you-" Gemi started.

"Feeling better, Lucy?" Mini ended. I smiled at the two of them, hoping it would be answer enough.

"We are happy to know that." Scorpio stated.

"Should I play some music?" Lyra asked.

"I'll find some music in the Celestial Archives." Crux said and fell asleep, snoring loudly.

"That will not be necessary, Lyra play something calm." Horologium said. Lyra nodded and began playing a calm and relaxing melody on her lyre.

"I like your new hair – ebi." Cancer complimented.

"I like her buuhbies." Taurus said with hearts in his eyes.

"Do you need anything, Miss Lucy?" Capricorn asked. Somehow, when Capricorn called me 'Miss Lucy', I didn't mind, but when Acnologia did it…

"Puuuun~" Plue said before I could reply to Capricorn, standing next to my wool bed.

"Pyx!" Pyxis said, his compass going haywire.

My eyes watered up at all of them being worried and showing up like this.

"No crying now, Princess. Of course we'd be here." Loke reassured me. I looked up at him with a tear rolling down my cheek. He was smiling. "We're your Spirits after all, aren't we?" He asked while he caught my tear with a thumb never breaking eye contact. Much more than that Loke, much more.

I nodded ignoring the pain that shot down my spine and trying not to show it.

Lyras' beautiful song was the only thing that could be heard around us for a while.

"I cannot hold this for much longer, my time is soon up. I will depart for the Spirit World now I know you're okay Lucy." Horologium said, breaking the silence.

I looked at him with furrowed eyebrows. I didn't feel anything, so why was his time up? I could usually feel it when my Spirits couldn't stay in the human – or Dragon – world for much longer.

"We're using our own magic, Lucy." Aquarius told me, again being the one who could read my thoughts.

"There is no way we would use your magic-" Mini started.

"When it is as unstable as yours was and you haven't summoned us!" Gemi ended off, looking at me with determination in their eyes.

I smiled warmly at them. Of course they wouldn't. I was proud of them though. They had stayed in the human – or Dragon – world for over an hour. They all had.

That showed just how strong willed they all were, even Aries, and how much they loved me. Even if they didn't show it, mainly Aquarius.

The facial expression she had made worried me. I don't think all that sorrow she surprisingly showed, was all directed at me. But I wasn't about to pursue it, if Aquarius wanted to tell me, she would. I was sure of it. It didn't make me worry less though.

"I think most of us are going back, we don't have much magic to go on any longer." Capricorn stated. Most of my Spirits nodded.

I looked alternately at all of them. They were my closest friends and here they were, all together just because I'd suffered some pain. These guys were amazing. And I would make sure they would stay with me as long as possible.

"Who's going to look after her first?" Loke asked. Look after me? Hell no! I could look after myself, I wasn't _that _weak. It wasn't like Oración Seis would revive and go look for me here in the Dragon Realm. I wouldn't get into any trouble. Besides Alodiculis would be here soon.

I was about to sit up and protest when a cool hand held me down. "Forget it Lucy." Aquarius said with a hint of her usual fierce self. She looked at Loke. "I'll go first." She said without making any space for any kind of discussion. She looked at Aries. "Aries, I'll need you to help me get her back to that cave of theirs, without having it hurt her too much." Aquarius told her.

Aries nodded quickly. "O-okay Aquarius. S-sorry!" She said quickly and timidly.

"There's nothing to apologize for." Aquarius said as she nodded. She looked back at Loke again. "I know there's no way you'll leave her side Leo, so you might as well come with us." She added and smirked a little at him.

Capricorn nodded. "Now that's settled I believe the rest of us will go home now. One of us will come later and replace you Aquarius." Capricorn said to the mermaid. Aquarius simply nodded.

What? No. They're doing too much, I was fine, no need for all that fuss.

To prove that, I would stand on my own two feet. I turned and quickly got on my feet like I normally would, then a shockwave, pain shot through my entire body and I began to fall to my knees from the sheer force of it.

Aquarius was quickly there though and caught me before I fell too far. "A little help?" She asked from a faraway place.

The pain flooded my senses and made everything seem far away. Someone grabbed my shoulder and they tilted me gently backwards, Aquarius taking my feet, they placed me gently on my wool bed, without moving me around too much.

"Thank you Scorpio." She said. So Scorpio had grabbed my shoulders? Guess that makes sense in a way. Everything cleared up as soon as I touched the wool; it was like it had a magical effect. Maybe it had.

"We are happy to help." Scorpio replied with his usual hand sign and one eye closed in a wink. I sweat dropped inwardly. Not the time Scorpio, not the time.

Aquarius turned her head and glared at me furiously. "When I say 'Forget it', Lucy, I _mean_ it. Now you lie down _exactly_ as you are right now and you do _not_ move a muscle." She scolded me with an underlying deadly tone.

Something in me told me I would die if I didn't do as Aquarius told me. I whimpered pathetically in fear of the wrath of my strongest and most dangerous Spirit.

Then all of my Spirits left one after another saying a small good bye and a 'get better'. The last to leave was Scorpio. "We'll see you later Sweety." Scorpio said and kissed Aquarius' forehead in a loving manner, with a blushing mermaid on the other side of his lips. "We'll come back when you've reached the cave and keep you company." He said, directed at me.

I nodded weakly, feeling like a huge burden to everyone. I had watched the conversation between Aquarius and Scorpio. I had never seen them interact with each other in that way, I was kind of ashamed to admit that I more often than not forgot their relationship. It was embarrassing, wasn't it? I should at the very least be able to remember my Spirits' relationships. I could easily remember Lokes' and Aries' not too evolved relationship, because their backstory had made a big impression on me, which mad it all hard to forget. But with Aquarius and Scorpio, I had no backstory on the two of them.

Actually, thinking about it, I didn't know much about my Spirits' previous owners and backstories. Maybe it was a private thing that should not be pried on unless necessary. Or if they shared it themselves.

Turning back to reality, I saw Scorpio disappear in a golden light. What he had called Aquarius was stuck in the forefront of my mind. He'd called her 'sweety'. 'Sweety' of all things. Probably not the most fitting of all things in my opinion, but it was cute. I didn't meant to be mean to Aquarius, but she never really struck me to be the 'sweet' type. I loved her no less though.

"Okay, let's go then." Loke said and began walking towards the river.

"Hold it lover boy." Aquarius stopped him. Loke turned around and looked at Aquarius with a questioning expression. "That Peace Dragon – What's his face?" She asked.

"Alodiculis." I said in a low, weak voice that hurt my throat.

"Exactly, Alodiculis, he'll be here soon and won't know what's been going on." Aquarius said. She was right, what about him? "You are going to stay here and wait for him, so you can explain the situation to him." She ended.

Loke nodded, a little unwillingly I think. "Alright, I'll wait here." He looked at me. "But I'll come back as soon as I'm done here." He told me.

Aquarius muttered something under her breath and turned to Aries. "Can you make this wool fly in the air?" Aquarius asked.

Aries nodded. "Y-yes I c-can, b-but not all the w-way to the cave. Sorry!" She said.

Aquarius smiled. "That's okay Aries. I'll take over when you can't." She reassured the lamb. I just watched it all incredulously. Aquarius just offered to help someone. Why hadn't I seen this side of her before now?

"Alright." Aries muttered. She made my wool bed hover in the air beside her and when she moved, it followed.

We walked – or flew on a cloud of wool – in silence, neither of us having much to talk about, being the weird group we were. I couldn't remember having those two work together ever. They were so far from each other personality wise as well as power wise, where Aquarius was doing heavy attacks and Aries great defense, I doubted they would work well together. This proved me wrong.

All the way to my and Acnologias' cave, they worked well together. Aquarius carrying us all over the river nonviolently and storing some water to help Aries when she got tired. Which she got in the middle of the forest. Aquarius took over and carried me on a wave of water, still on the wool bed, which apparently was water resistant, like some kind of princess, despite my many protests.

It all went on in complete silence between the two, showing how little they had to talk about. The only thing breaking the silence were my continuous protests, reassuring them that I could walk perfectly fine by myself. They didn't think so though. Aries, as a change of character, went as far as to locking me to the bed with a belt of wool over my arms and stomach.

How they knew where to go was beyond me, I hadn't even called any of them out near it, somehow they just did.

"So this is your cave?" Aquarius said unimpressed. We had already walked – or flown – all the way to the cave, it hadn't taken much over 10 minutes, the two of them moved fast.

I tilted my head back and looked at the familiar rock walls. "Yeah, that's it." I confirmed. My voice had turned perfectly fine during our walk.

Aquarius nodded and began walking into the cave, dragging me after her on her wave of water. Aries followed us into the cave, looking timidly and warily, as if something could jump us at any moment.

Aquarius walked me to the middle of the soft moss in the cave and gently heaved my wool bed down. It sent a flash of pain through my back and all the way to my toes when I hit the ground, making me groan lightly. When would this stop?

Aquarius turned to the wary lamb. "Thank you, Aries, you were a great help." Aquarius thanked the timid girl.

I was still not even near being used to Aquarius' nice side, it was just so weird.

"I-it was no pr-problem really." Aries said, fumbling with the words. "L-let me just d-do one last th-thing." Aries muttered and walked towards my wool bed and kneeled. She placed her hands on the side of the bed and pushed her magic into it. I felt the bed wiggle and move under me and when she pulled back shortly after, the bed was much more comfortable. "I-I-I r-renewed the wool. S-sorry!" She said and disappeared before I could say anything.

I sighed and wiggled in my bed, still being locked to my bed, trying to find a more comfortable position. Why hadn't she removed that belt of wool? I wasn't _that_ much of a problem, was I? I yawned, making my chest hurt in the process. It seemed I had gotten tired because of everything.

"Lucy." Aquarius called. I turned my head to the hovering Mermaid Spirit. "Your magic is more stable now, would it be okay if I began using yours? I'm running low on magic myself." She asked.

I remembered how Loke had explained that it began hurting when he had been in the human world in some time. And he was the leader of the Zodiac keys and probably most stubborn of all of my Spirits.

I looked back at my Spirit, she was sweating bullets and her tail was twitching. She had a pained expression on her face as well. I nodded. "Of course." I said matter-of-factly. I never would be able to just stand back and watch my Spirit friends suffer. Ever. If anything I would suffer with them and if I could, I would take their pain away. That was also one of the many reasons I fought alongside them instead of letting them do all the work. I felt a little change in my magic and relief flooded my Water Bearing Spirits face. "Thank you." She muttered with closed eyes.

I smiled warmly at her, happy I could relieve her pain. I smiled a little wider. It wasn't quite as hard keeping Aquarius' Gate open. Usually I would be completely depleted of magic when I kept Aquarius' Gate open in 10 minutes, now I felt like I could keep her Gate open in several hours in a row.

I decided to try my luck just a little. It probably wasn't the cleverest thing I had done that day, but I just _had_ to test my limits.

I pulled out Scorpios' key, which Aquarius noticed. Her eyes widened in realization. "No, Lucy, don't!" She tried to stop me, but I had made up my mind.

I held out Scorpios' key as much as the wool belt allowed me to. "Open Gate of the Scorpion! Scorpio!" I said loudly, but without the force I used to use.

Scorpio appeared in a golden light in his usual pose. "We are!" He said as he appeared. Then he realized what was going on. He saw Aquarius and could probably feel that she didn't use her own magic. If he couldn't, he could see it in her face. He looked down at me with worried eyes. "Lucy… Why did you call us?" He asked slowly.

I just smiled, not giving any other answer.

Scorpio looked at me a while longer, waiting for an answer. He soon enough realized he wouldn't get one. He sighed. "We're going back and will come back with our own magic. Lucy you can't have two Gates open at the same time." The scorpion said and tried to close his own Gate.

I prevented that from happening though. I smiled at my Scorpion Spirit. "You can only close a Spirit Gate if both agree, isn't that right?" I asked rhetorically. Scorpio looked at me with a defeated expression. That was answer enough for me. "You said you would keep Aquarius some company, now you can. I think I'll take a nap." I said and yawned once again. I closed my tired eyes to try to fall asleep.

"No Lucy! Call Scorpio back!" Aquarius insisted. I peeked open an eye and looked at her and her often mentioned boyfriend.

Scorpio was holding one arm out to stop her; he was shaking his head lightly. "No, Aquarius, she's too stubborn." He told her. He was right about that though.

Aquarius looked at him and then down at me. "Lucy…" She muttered.

I closed my eyes again and fell asleep with a content smile on my lips. I had won.

**There you go. Did you see it? Did you? No? Well, it was a chapter at over 10.000 words! Without the A/N of course. They just keep getting longer…. I'll try to tone it down in the next chapter .-.**

**Anyway, I know I have posted a day early, but I have to figure everything out with school and everything, so for now I believe it will be at the end of Saturday I will be posting, since I usually don't have much to do Saturday and it's just right up and down Monday. So yeah…**

**Hope you liked my chapter! And the cliffhanger as well ^_^**

**Thanks to Amethystfairy1, FT LOVER (Guest), 00halfblood, darkrith, clumzybeans, Little Indian Girl, AnimeLoverYuki, mjb379, EmilyAG18, FireDemonSlayer, Lunarwolf02, final-zangetsu, NightVVingz, bronzitewolf, AriquRmegustaleer, Eeveexme, Xrayxanne, Pikachu17, JayJayinMay, kuroneko98 (Guest), blackcat98, Alice Summers, fobgrvt, donuts 2000, freezing1203, XinderXD, Shiranai Atsune, anj18, Howl At The Lycaon Moon, DemiseSurvive, gokuss4kamehameha, Estaanchie and every reader, thank you for everything! I am more than overjoyed! There's really many here this time, I think in the start of the week here, there were 8 reviews in a row O.o – that was how I looked when I woke up. It's amazing guys, just amazing.**

**Oh, final note: It has come to my attention that some of you don't know my gender. If it has any interest to you; I'm a girl. As far as I know anyway.**

**~Line464d**


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

**With this chapter we've reached over 100.000 words! - although some of it is A/N and stuff, it's still amazing, don'cha think? I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made! R&R!**

**Disclaimer: Slowpoke is slow as always… I do not own Fairy Tail.**

**In the Cave – Dragon Realm**

**Aquarius' P.O.V**

"But Scorpio she shouldn't keep two Gates open at the same time, not in this condition." I said to my boyfriend. I may not have been as expressive about it as Leo, but I also cared for out little, not-blonde-anymore Master. I hated to watch her suffer just as much as the other Spirits did.

Lucy had fallen asleep on that wool bed a while ago; she probably needed the rest after getting her Second Origin opened.

Scorpio and I sat with our backs against the cave wall, watching our Master from a distance. We had both tried to go back to the Spirit World several times, but the results were the same as the first time. Eventually we had pretty much given up.

Lucy's magical pressure wasn't at a dangerous level in any way; it felt like she could keep this up all day. I knew the Second Origin could open up for a lot of magic, but I didn't expect this much.

"We know, Aquarius, but there's really nothing to do about it." Scorpio said with a defeated voice. He usually was so energetic, but now he was more like a deflated balloon.

I looked back at our sleeping Master. I hated that Scorpios' words had to be true. I had to ask myself again, why I always had to have such stubborn Masters. Couldn't I, just for once, have a less stubborn Master?

On the other hand, that would be boring. If my Master just gave up whenever he or she faced something difficult, it wouldn't be challenging at all.

Why wasn't there something like Forced Gate Closure for Spirits? That way, we could close our own Gate if our Masters wanted us to do something outrageous. That would be just wonderful. Then I could also have some fun irritating my Master by just disappearing in the middle of a battle. If we could do that, this situation would be prevented easily and Lucy wouldn't be overusing her magic.

Realizing my thoughts had been drifting, I turned back to reality. I looked down at Lucy again. Why was she so much like _him_?

Lucy was lying completely still; her chest didn't seem to be moving much. I suddenly got afraid. What if it was like with _him_? I wouldn't be able to go through that again. I got up and rushed to my Master with Scorpio calling in the background. Up close, it was obvious that everything was fine and it was just my eyes and mind playing tricks on me.

I dropped my head and closed my eyes to fight back the tears that threatened to fall. I couldn't go through it again. I just couldn't.

Two strong arms circled around me from behind and pulled me back into a hard chest. I let the warmth embrace me and leaned into his chest. "Why don't you just tell her Aqua?" He asked in a low voice, sending a tingle all the way down my spine. He used the nickname for me, which only he was allowed to use.

I shook my head. "No, I can't. She doesn't need to know." I told him.

Scorpio sighed deeply. "Are you really sure about that?" He asked. I knew what he was thinking, but I wouldn't tell her, she didn't need to know. Not yet anyway.

She probably wanted to know though. Especially with how I was acting earlier. That was a slip on my part, I revealed too much.

I didn't want to tell her about _him_, not if I didn't have to. I didn't want to remember the whole thing, so I could relieve it and feel the pain once again.

I shook my head again, more demanding this time. "No, I won't tell her unless it's necessary." I said.

I could feel him nod, knowing he had accepted my words, which I had expected. "There's no changing your mind, is there?" He asked rhetorically.

I knew he already knew the answer, so I just smiled a little. I opened my eyes and looked at my sleeping Master. "She's strong enough to pull through this, right?" I asked. Surprising myself by how scared my voice sounded in my own ears.

Scorpio pulled back and turned me around, looking into my eyes. "Of course she will, why wouldn't she? She's strong." Scorpio reassured me. "She's not _him_, Aqua, she's _Lucy_ and nothing will stop her. Don't compare her to _him._" He told me. His eyes told me that he wasn't lying, but merely telling me what he believed to be true.

Lucy would pull through, Scorpio was right, she wasn't _him._ She wasn't weak. I nodded and watched relief was over his face.

"Aquarius I know how you might feel about this, but you really shouldn't doubt Lucy, she's stronger than one might think." A cat-like male voice said. Only one person could sneak his way to me without me noticing.

I didn't look in the direction of the cave entrance, where the voice was coming from, as I spoke. "I know Leo, that's what Scorpio just stated." I told him exasperatedly. Sometimes I just couldn't take that cat.

"Scorpio? Why are you here?" Leo asked. I moaned. Did he first realize now? And he was supposed to be our leader. I looked at the not-worthy leader.

"Hello, Leo. Lucy won't let either of us go back." Scorpio explained simply and gestured to her while doing so.

"What? You're both running on her magic?" He asked, staring at both of us as if we were to blame.

"Yes, at first, when we reached the cave, I asked Lucy if I could go with her magic, since I was almost out and hers had become stable again. She let me without any problems, but before I could stop her, she had called out Scorpio and refused to let him go back, even as she fell asleep." I explained. There, it wasn't our fault.

Leo looked down at Lucy. "Of course." He sighed and began walking towards out Master with his cat-like grace. He knelt down on the other side of the wool bed and placed his hand on the wool belt, dispersing it into thin air. That was why he was our leader, if he wanted to, he could do what he wanted with all of our magic, we Zodiacs. No one knew of it, actually only the Spirit King and the Gold keys knew he could. He never told any of his Masters, afraid they'd make him do something to the other Zodiac Spirits, he didn't want to. "What's with the belt?" He asked, cutting me out of my thoughts.

I looked at him without smiling. "She moved around too much, we had to restrain her." I explained simply.

"It doesn't surprise me." He smiled gently at our Master. He looked up at us with a more serious expression. "We'll have to wait until she wakes up with sending the two of you back again." He said what we already knew.

"Yeah, we know." I sighed. Way to state the obvious.

He looked alternately at the two of us and adopted a frown. "Have you felt any irregularity in her magical pressure?" He asked at last. I just _knew_ he would ask that.

"No, we haven't felt anything so far, it's like it doesn't even bother her." Scorpio answered. I nodded in agreement with him. She had been sleeping calmly through it from the beginning, so it really didn't bother her in the least.

But maybe it's just because she's sleeping. Maybe, if she was awake, she would be feeling her magic flow out and disappearing. Maybe she would be hurting with every second. Maybe-

Fingers snapped in front of my face, jolting me out of my trance. I looked at Leo with what I hoped was a glare; it was hard to make one with that kind of thoughts swirling in your head.

Leo just looked at me with sad eyes, completely ignoring my glare. "Aquarius, I know what you are thinking. It won't be like that this time, Lucy is much stronger." He told me.

I narrowed my eyes at him. Why did he always have to be right? It was annoying. "How do you know _that_ was what I was thinking about?" I asked him.

Leo sighed. "Of course I would know, I'm your leader after all. What kind of lousy leader would I be if I didn't know what you guys were thinking?" He asked.

He was right about that though. He always knew what everyone was thinking. It was kind of creepy sometimes, but also nice when you needed someone to talk to. Although I would never talk with him about that kind of stuff. I just shrugged, feigning that I didn't care. "I guess she's strong enough, then." I complied, feeling the truth behind my own words.

"Well, that's not what I've been told. That I'm strong I mean." A tired voice said a little below us. We all looked down just to see Lucy stifle a yawn. Oh, no, had she heard what we'd been saying? Did she want to know now? Lucy looked at me with tired, brown eyes, which shone in amusement. "Calm down already Aquarius, I didn't eavesdrop on your conversation. I only heard your last comment." She reassured me and began beaming at me just as she had said that. "Thank you for believing in me though." She smiled.

"I'm completely calm! And don't get too cocky, it wasn't very deep-felt." I told her, feeling the fury begin to flare up in me. How dare she tease me like that? Me, Aquarius, the Water Bearer Spirit?

I began regretting my words just as I'd said them though, I was a little too tough sometimes, it was a bad habit of mine, but I should at least be able to bottle it up now with the whole Fairy Tail thing. Obviously I couldn't. I really needed to work on my self-control someday.

Leos' face broke into a wide smile. I sighed inwardly. That just ruined the feel of amazing leadership he had about him. "Princess! Good you're awake!" He cheered, not so leader-like. Moron cat.

"Lucy." I called to get her attention from the Lion.

She turned her head in my direction and looked into my eyes with her big, brown orbs. "What is it, Aquarius?" She asked.

I looked at her silently for a pair of seconds before answering. "You need to send Scorpio and me back. ASAP." I told her firmly, knowing she would refuse.

She looked confusedly at Scorpio and me. "Why? I don't feel anything." She reassured us.

I sighed, but let Scorpio answer. "Maybe you won't feel anything now, but you will tomorrow. On top of the Second Origin." He added in the end.

Lucy moaned. "I'll be feeling the Second Origin tomorrow too?" She asked exasperatedly, I nodded. She didn't know? "Great." She simply said. She looked at the two of us with an apologizing gaze. "I'm going to send you back then, I'm sorry." She apologized.

I looked down at her, hoping I showed her just how big an idiot she was. "Lucy, we _asked_ to be sent back. We've waited all this time, when you slept, for you to wake up so you could send us back. "I told her with and underlying tone of annoyance in my voice.

She smiled at me. "Right, right. Thank you for staying." She said.

"It wasn't a choice! I was forced to!" I yelled at her just as we were sucked through our Gate. I flew through the stars at a high speed, before landing in the familiarity of the Spirit World. I sighed. "Great, she probably didn't hear that." I muttered.

"We're sure she did." Scorpio smiled at me.

I smiled in return and clung to his arm. "Whatever you say."

**The clearing in Socubedo Forest**

**Acnologias' P.O.V**

I'd been training all day and was still at it. I hadn't progressed much, only managed to grow the ball of Chaos into a small football-sized one. Pathetic, isn't it?

Well to my defense, my mind had been quite foggy all day. To specify, since this morning. I could almost still feel her warm lips on my nose.

Ae (Yes), I had been awake and it had been haunting me all day. In a good way of course. I'd been in some kind of state of pure bliss. I didn't think it would affect me so much if I hadn't… Uh… _Decided_ how I felt for her the other night. That also meant I'd been completely unable to concentrate on the task at hand.

The fact that my Dragon constantly harassed me didn't help at all either.

In his eyes, I was an incompetent fool and he was unfortunate to be stuck with sharing the same body and soul as me. Actually, he was probably the Dragon in the most miserable position of them all. Why was he stuck with me, who couldn't even handle a single kiss on the snout from the girl I loved?

When he had mentioned the kiss though, he seemed to be more than satisfied with himself. I'm afraid his huge ego grew a few meters at that point.

_Mini-Me, you are so useless it's a wonder dear Lucy even took the time to kiss your snout.___My Dragon interrupted me. I tried ignoring him and focus on the ball above my palms, trying to make it a little bigger. The Dragon paused for a few second before continuing. _Actually, thinking about it, she kissed _my_ snout, not _yours_. _He said optimistically. Keep focus! _I can still feel her lips on my snout, can't you?_ He then asked, just to make sure I would lose my focus.

Which he succeeded in very well. The football-sized Chaos magic ball I had been carefully making, disappeared into thin air just as he finished his question. He knew perfectly well just _how_ real that kiss still felt. How hot and perfect it felt. How vividly and clearly I remembered it. How-

"**Why are you blushing, Ac-nii-chan?**" Basuril asked, pushing me out of my wonderful dreams I'd have loved to continue. Wait… Blushing? I moved a hand to my cheek to feel the temperature. It was scorching hot. To me anyway. How long had I been doing that?

Deamunas perked up from where he lay at Basurils' words. "**What? Blushing?**" He asked with his deep Dragon voice. He looked curiously at me. "**Acnologia? Is that why you haven't been able to concentrate all day?**" He asked and before I could answer, a sly smirk appeared on his huge Dragon face. "**Is it about **_**Ngá Ngaro kotahi (The Lost one)?**_" He asked. I felt my cheeks heat up even more, but tried not to show it. Deamunas narrowed his eyes playfully and his smirk grew in size. "**Oh so it is. What happened between the two of you?**" He asked, looking at me as if he expected an answer.

I stared at my smirking friend speechless. How did he know? Was I _that_ obvious? I couldn't find the words to answer him; they got stuck in my throat.

I didn't have to answer though, Deamunas could easily continue. "**Have you two been making out? Have you declared your undying love for each other?**" He asked as he came closer and closer with every question. His smirk only growing wider and he narrowed his eyes playfully at me. "**Have you maybe been a little dirty, Acnologia?**"

I quickly shook my head to deny what he suggested. "No! It's nothing _like_ that!" I reassured him.

_Isn't it though?_ The Dragon asked. What was that jerk talking about now? _You remember yesterday, right? _I knew exactly what part he meant. How could I forget? _Yeah, you pulled her clothes off, I'm certain you remember that part. What would you call that?_ The Dragon asked and began laughing loudly. That damn Dragon.

Deamunas lowered his head to my height. "**What is it like then?**" He asked.

I shook my head. "No, you're misunderstanding everything." I told him. How would I get myself out of this one?

Deamunas snickered. "Yeah? Then tell me what I misunderstood?" He suggested, never did the smirk leave his face.

I looked at the ground. "W-well…" What was I supposed to say? 'Oh, I just pulled off her shirt because she was freezing and let her wear mine', I couldn't say that. He would just get the wrong idea, quickly dubbing me as a pervert or something. If he hadn't already. "Nothing happened." I half lied. While I _did_ pull her shirt off and everything and got a k-ki-kiss, it didn't hold any meaning of any kind of 'love', like he could be imagining.

After thinking that I felt my mood dive all the way down to the bottom of all bottoms. That was right, that kiss of hers, it had no special meaning whatsoever, it was just a simple 'thank you', nothing more.

Deamunas looked confusedly at me and the gloomy aura suddenly hanging around me. "**Whoa, there. That's what I call a change of mood.**" He muttered. A smirk appeared on his face. "**Okay, I get it, there's nothing going on between you and Lucy.**" He said.

With those words, the aura around me turned even gloomier and I looked down at the ground. He had said it, the truth. Nothing. Nothing at all.

Deamunas raised an eyebrow and looked at me for a moment. "**I think training is over.**" He turned and looked down at Basuril. "**Basuril, it's time for your dinner, I'm sure your mother is waiting for you back home.**" He told the little Dragon.

Basuril nodded, with a happy face. "**Okay~. I'll see you two tomorrow then!**" He said and hurried on home.

Deamunas turned to me with an unreadable expression on his face. "**You know, I don't know what happened to you, but you really gotta snap out of it.**" He said and laughed a little. "**Or else you'll never get Lucy.**" He smiled. Genuinely for once.

I looked up at him. Was it common knowledge that I loved Lucy? Apparently there was just no hiding it. I nodded; there was really nothing else to do. I knew what he said was true; I had to be myself, that was the only way I'd ever succeed. I had to fight for her, not just give up whenever an obstacle showed up. And I wouldn't hand her over to anyone!

That was, unless she loved whoever it would be, then it really wasn't my decision. But regardless, I felt determined now, determined to make Lucy mine.

Deamunas snickered. "**Now you're gotten 'determined to make Lucy yours', to quote you, I believe it is time to go back to her. What do you think?**" He smirked.

I looked at him in horror. Had I spoken out loud? "Did I…?" I trailed off, but knew Deamunas would know what I was hinting at.

He smirked wider. "**Yeah, you spoke out loud.**" He confirmed. Absolutely perfect. "**Now if you wouldn't mind, please change to our Dragon form.**" Deamunas ordered.

I nodded and let myself turn to my Dragon form. Deamunas and I flew off towards the cave, just like the day before.

_It's good to know we're on the same page. _The Dragon told me and before I could wonder what it was he was talking about, he told me himself. _Now, which personality would Lucy like the most? Your pathetic one, or my awesome one? _He paused a moment to think. _I actually think she prefers yours, sadly. I get the impression she's more to guys like you. A shame really. _The Dragon snorted. _Well, I bet her Dragon is more into guys like me, so it would even it out._ The Dragon kept blabbering.

I rolled my eyes at him. Although, I had to give him credit for his great admittance there, I didn't think his ego would be able to handle something like that. But he was probably right; he would probably fit better with the Dragon form, for several reasons.

_However, I'm still planning when I should take over, you know. You're simply progressing too slowly. _He told me. Oh that jackass, who did he think he was? _With Lucy, that is. Not your magic control. Although that is moving quite slowly too. _The Dragon snickered.

SHUT UP YOU DAMN DRAGON – I screamed in my mind, which made him laugh out loud, but otherwise he kept silent. Oh well, it seemed to work.

Deamunas looked weirdly at me. "**Having problems with your Dragon?**" He asked.

How could he see that? Could he read minds or something? I nodded. "**Yeah, he's being a **_**real**_** jackass right now.**" I almost growled.

Deamunas snickered. "**What did he tell you?**" He asked.

Well great. Now I was in a bind, 'cause it would be weird not to tell him. I'd just have to cut some of it off then. "**He told me how **_**slow**_** I was progressing with my magic control.**" I told my friend through clenched teeth. If I was slow, then he was slow too. Stupid Dragon.

Deamunas looked forward with a smile playing at his lips. "**I agree with him.**" He said bluntly.

My head shot in his direction. "**What? Why?**" I asked and glared at him. Well that was supposed to be my best friend. The support I feel I get from him, it's overwhelming.

Deamunas snorted. "**Compared to others you are really slow. Especially today.**" He said and sent me a glance. "**But for you it's progressing somewhat fast, actually.**" He smirked.

I just huffed. Right, thank you for the faith though.

I heard a loud voice from below me. "BUT WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME?" A voice I sadly recognized yelled. I looked down and saw the tip of my cave peek over the trees. We were already here.

I looked at Deamunas. "**I would believe we reached the cave. And that Lucy is awake. I guess you can meet her today then.**" I told him. He just nodded, probably trying to figure out who was yelling. We slowly descended down through the trees, not making much noise.

"I ALREADY TOLD YOU, DIDN'T I?! YOU WERE ASLEEP!" Another voice yelled back. Although her voice had a sharp edge to it and was yelling, it was as beautiful as ever. What were they talking about anyway?

The first voice grumbled something, I couldn't make out what it said.

I sweat dropped. Well, nothing new there. I motioned for Deamunas to follow me. Even as we went closer to the cave, in our Dragon forms too, Lucy and Loke didn't seem to notice us. Which _did_ say something.

"I'm sorry Loke; I know you would have wanted to know about it. But just think about it, if you knew, you'd have done all you could to stop me." Lucy apologized to Loke. What had been going on? If it was something Loke would have stopped then…

Loke sighed. "Yes, I sure would." He told her firmly. "Listen, don't go and _do_ things like that again. Please tell me next time. I just.." He paused and inhaled deeply. "I just don't want to see you suffer." He told her.

I furrowed my eyebrows – had I had any – and looked at the two of them. Lucy was sitting on the moss floor and with her arms around that cat. He didn't want to see her suffer? What had she been doing to make him act that way? Had she been suffering?

Ae (Yes), I concluded, she _had_ been suffering, one way or another. Why else would Loke talk like that? I marched up to the two tiny humans and my shadow put them both into darkness. "**Just what have you two been up to?**" I asked menacingly. If Lucy had been suffering, I demanded to know what had made her do so and get rid of it.

Lucy looked up at me with wide eyes. She probably hadn't expected me to show up like that. Neither had Loke. He looked up at me enraged. "Oi Dragon-boy! Don't just sneak up on people like that! We were having a personal moment." He told me. Oh, a personal moment, huh? What kind of personal moment?

I glared at the cat, making sure never to break eye-contact. The cat was persistent though; he looked up into my eyes defiantly, seemingly not backing down anytime soon. However, I could see the sweat begin to form. My mouth turned upwards in a victorious smirk, but I kept glaring at the cat. At last he looked away, down at the ground next to him.

I looked at Lucy, expecting an answer for my earlier question. She sighed and waved a hand dismissively in front of her. "It's nothing. I just opened my Second Origin." She told me and looked up at me with a hint of hope in her eyes.

I furrowed my eyebrows. Second Origin? Where had I heard that before? I looked through my memories to try and figure out what that word meant.

Deamunas knew what it meant though. He took a step forward and stood next to me, looking down at Lucy with wonder in his eyes. "**Second Origin?**" He asked for clarification. Lucy just nodded. I looked at my friend in hope of an explanation. He took a step back and looked shocked. "**That… You opened your Second Origin? But that's supposed to be incredibly painful! I've heard of people dying, because they couldn't take the pain.**" Deamunas blurted out. I glared at him as if he was at fault. Káo (No), Lucy wouldn't die! End of conversation. She just wouldn't. Deamunas brought his head down close to Lucy. Which annoyed me a great deal. "**When was it opened, Lucy?**" He asked straightforward. And he didn't even know the girl.

Lucy looked nervously at the new Dragon. "Uh… I-It would b-be just about thr-three hours ago n-now." She stammered and stared at the Deamunas.

I sighed and put my tail on what could be classified as Deamunas' chest and pushed him back. "**You're too close, moron. You're scaring her.**" I shook my head lightly, although I wanted to do the very same thing. Lucy had been suffering, and I hadn't been there for her. It crushed something deep inside me.

Deamunas held his head high again and had a look of relief on his face. "**Then you're going to be fine. The worst is over and the pain won't be as bad.**" Deamunas told her.

Pain? What the hell? Was I the only one who didn't know? I decided now was the time to change that. "**What is the Second Origin? Why is it painful?**" I asked and looked down at Lucy. "**And most of all, why did you get it opened?**" I asked her.

Lucy looked at me apologetically. "Sorry Acnologia, I should have told you." She apologized. "The Second Origin is a container of untapped magic we all have inside us. It is painful when opened because your old magic and the one from the Second Origin doesn't work well together, and fight for dominance. That's what it felt like to me anyway. And I got it opened because it is an important part of my training." She told me.

I looked at her. "**How can pain be an important part of your training?**" I asked. I never knew her training would lead to this. I could only imagine how much it must have hurt. I've only tried once to have my magic in an uproar; it was the day my father had been caught by the Magic Council in Earthland. I had run away and found the cave near that little cave by chance. The emotional pain I felt was pushing my magic over the edge and it hurt so bad. It had allowed me to find my Dragon form too though. But what was in it for Lucy?

She looked up at me with determined eyes. "It almost doubled my strength." She told me. "Maybe I can open Plues' Gate now…" She muttered to herself. "If I can't, how will I ever be able to use my Spirits' full strength?" She asked me, although I had no idea what she was talking about.

I just shrugged. We would take this discussion later; I didn't want to do it right in front of my friend or her Spirit. "**Alright, we'll talk about this later, Lucy. For now, meet my SIC, Deamunas Tehepo. Deamunas, meet Lucy Mau'Te Rongo.**" I introduced the two of them.

Lucy, having dropped the topic for now, smiled up at my friend. "Hi Deamunas, nice to meet you." She said.

Deamunas nodded. "**Likewise. Acnologia has been talking a lot about you.**" He smirked. Lucys' cheeks seemed to turn pink. Mine would have too, had I not been a Dragon. Deamunas snickered. "**It's always so hilarious to watch you peoples' reaction!**" He laughed. Oh he was going to pay for that. I swore I would pay him back for that someday. Deamunas looked down at Loke. "**And who are you by the way?**" He asked.

Loke stood straight and stared into my friends' eyes. "I'm Loke, otherwise known as Leo, Leader of the Zodiac Spirits of Earthland and Lucys' strongest Spirit." He told Deamunas. So Loke was her strongest Spirit, eh?

Lucy shook her head at him with a little smile on her lips. "Loke, don't flatter yourself. Aquarius is stronger than you; she just doesn't have the same control you do." She said.

Loke pouted. "If only you knew." He muttered under his breath, only Dragon hearing able to catch it. I looked suspiciously at Loke. What kind of secrets did he have? He put his hand behind his head and looked relaxed. "Ah well, I'm fine with being the second strongest then." He told her with a wide smile.

Lucy looked up at Deamunas, ignoring Loke. "So how long have you and Acnologia been friends?" She asked.

Deamunas smiled down at her and moved into the moss, where he made himself comfortable. "**In just about seven years now.**" He told her. I moved to the other side of the cave and sat in the moss, close to Lucy, anticipating this conversation to be long. "**Oh, I see you've gotten the same silver hair as your mother.**" Deamunas said with a wide smile. "**It suits you.**" He complimented her.

What? Silver hair? Lucy had golden hair as far as I was aware. I looked down at her to make sure she still had that golden hair, but she didn't. She actually had that silver hair Deamunas was talking about. It was shining in the light of the little sun that reached inside the cave. And it was much more beautiful than her golden hair. It was more natural in a way. Which may have seemed odd, but considering my life had been filled with Dragons and other odd things, this wasn't really odd at all. And look at my own hair, if anything, _that_ was weird.

I nodded in agreement. "**Yeah, it really does.**" I said to her. She blushed at both of our comments and looked at the ground, probably too embarrassed to look at either of us. She smiled widely though.

Loke chuckled. "I think she means to say 'thank you'." He smiled. I nodded, yeah, she probably did.

**A while later~**

**Lucys' P.O.V**

"**Well, I better head home now, it's getting late.**" Deamunas said and got to his feet slowly.

We had been talking in I don't know how long. Probably a few hours, the sun had set a little while ago. Deamunas was a funny guy, and he seemed to love teasing people. I could understand why he was Acnologias' best friend. I'd been told a lot about their friendship and what Deamunas did for Acnologia while he was in Earthland. So the joker was responsible too. It was a bit of a weird combination, but worked out perfectly in this case.

Acnologia looked out and adopted a surprised look. "**It's really been that long?**" He asked rhetorically.

Deamunas nodded. "**Exactly, so I'll be seeing you tomorrow Acnologia.**" He looked down at me. "**Nice meeting you Lucy.**" He smiled and walked towards the entrance of the cave.

I waved at him. "Yeah, same to you Deamunas. Sleep well!" I yelled after him as he flew away.

Acnologia and I stayed silent for a while as Deamunas flew longer and longer away. "I'll go back too, then." Loke said and looked at me with a smile. "See you tomorrow Princess." He looked at Acnologia with a serious expression. "Dragon-boy." Acnologia nodded back and I waved with a smile as Loke returned to the Spirit World.

Acnologia looked down at me wearing solemn expression. "**Lucy, the Second Origin…**" He trailed off and started somewhere else. "**You haven't moved from your spot there on the floor this entire time. It's the Second Origin, right?**" He asked. So he had figured it out. Although the pain was much better than it was before, it still hurt to move around.

I nodded, looking at the ground. "Yeah." I sighed and looked back up at him again. "You know, it would be easier if I just told you my whole training, today and yesterday." I told him. He nodded for me to go on.

I explained everything to him, not even letting out the parts where I passed out. I had reached the part with the opening of the Second Origin. "It just… It just hurt so much, Acnologia." I mumbled with tears falling freely down my cheeks, as I remembered everything and almost felt the pain all over again. Acnologia looked at me with a worried expression and turned to his Human form. "It-it felt like m-my magic wa-was trying to t-tear out of my body." I said, trying to keep the sobs at bay, every ragged inhale I took hurt my chest.

Acnologia pulled me up on his lap and pressed my head gently to his chest, resting his chin on top of my head and holding me close, slowly rocking back and forth. Much like the day he told me about my father, Mama and myself. "Shh, it's okay, I understand." I tried not to show that it hurt when he pulled me on his lap, because it just felt so nice and safe there. Like nothing would ever hurt me if I just stayed there.

A warm feeling spread through me at his touch, everywhere he stroke me to cheer me up, seemed to burn comfortably and the sound of his steady heartbeat and occasional mumble calmed me down. Soon enough, my tears stopped, but even then we didn't move. I stayed in Acnologias' lap with his strong arms around me.

I closed my eyes and enjoyed the silence between us, with only his heartbeat breaking the silence. It seemed to be going a little faster than normally, but I didn't mind, mine was beating at a rhythm matching his perfectly. I couldn't remember ever feeling like this. So at peace, comfortable. So safe and… Important, somehow.

Except once. When Natsu saved me from Jose and my arranged marriage.

Pushing that thought away, not wanting it to spoil the moment, I kept enjoying my friends' warm and strong embrace. Something stirred deep down in me and a small smile appeared at my lips. If only it could be like this forever, so peaceful and warm. Perfect.

Everything, Second Origin, training, Fairy Tail, everything was forgotten as I was in such close proximity with Acnologia and let his touches comfort me and take all my attention. Nothing but the two of us existed in this world.

Weird and somewhat familiar feelings tumbled around in me; I just couldn't name any of them. They were something I should have known, but had forgotten, probably due to the intoxicating scent of Acnologia, which was so strong since I was so close. The feelings, although swirling around at random, left a trail of warmth through me and I let myself be lulled to sleep with his heartbeat as my own, private lullaby.

**Acnologias' P.O.V**

I felt so lucky right at that moment. I had Lucy in my arms and it was without protests or resistance from her, not that I would have anything planned along those lines. She just sat calmly and let me hold her and caress her, even leaning in closer to my chest, if ever possible.

I was probably the most fortunate man alive at that moment. I had the girl I loved more than anything in my arms and it felt so natural. My love for her only increased and I couldn't get enough. I had to touch her. Caress her some more. Have her closer.

I tightened my arms around her and closed my eyes. I never felt so good in my entire life. It was like everything fell into place and fit together. I was the happiest man walking in this world and those beyond.

And I wouldn't let it go for anything in the world. I would overcome anything, just so I could experience this fantastic sensation again.

I felt her chest heave a little more than what she usually would and heard her deep breathing. I opened my eyes and looked down at her. The beautiful skin around her eyes and her cheeks were red and swollen because of her earlier tears and her eyes were closed. She was seemingly sleeping peacefully. I moved a hand to her soft cheek and stroke it gently, feeling the remnant wetness of her salty tears. I gently brushed her tears away, making sure she wouldn't wake up.

Her silver hair almost lit up in the darkness of the cave, making her look like a fallen angel. It was remarkable how much that simple color of hair made her look so much more mature compared to the golden hair she had had before. She looked more like a woman than a teenager now, and it made her so much more beautiful.

I moved my arms carefully to the back of her knees and behind her shoulder and slowly put her down on the moss. She whimpered a little in her sleep when she touched the moss and I removed my arms.

I furrowed my eyebrows. It was that Second Origin again. I still couldn't understand what had driven her to open that container, but I knew it was because of her love for her Spirits. She wanted them to be able to use their full power, without being held back in reins. Not because she wanted to get stronger – well maybe a little bit because of that too – but it wasn't her main concern, no, it was because she wanted her Spirits to feel free. She wanted to help them in any way she could.

I admired her for that, no doubt about that, but I still thought opening the Second Origin had been a little much. The pain she was going through and had gone through, I wanted to take it all away, but knew I couldn't do anything of the sort. It was her choice, and I respected it.

I smiled gently down at her and moved a stray strand behind her ear; her hair was just as silky to touch as the other day.

I moved a little back and transformed myself into my Dragon form. I lay with my back to the entrance to shield Lucy from the cold wind coming from the outside. I couldn't really feel it through my scales, so it didn't matter much to me. I had placed myself a little closer to Lucy, hoping to have her catch some of my body heat, although I knew I wasn't like a blazing sun as Igneel was. It was at the end of the summer here in the Dragon Realm, and autumn was soon coming. Then the nights would be colder.

I scowled. I had to figure out how to keep her warm even in those cold nights. I closed my eyes and shook my head lightly. That had to wait for another time; I needed to sleep so I was ready for the day to come.

_You know, you did pretty well with Lucy today, Mini-Me. Quite bold of you, actually. I'm impressed. Almost anyway._ A voice I did _not_ need to hear right now told me. Although I appreciated the praise, even if it was coming from him.

I chose to ignore the Dragon and focused on getting some sleep instead, I didn't want to deal with the moron at the moment.

Soon enough I fell asleep, with the Dragon grumbling in my head about how rude I was. I basically didn't care, I was too happy.

**So, a major AcLu/LuGia moment right there, I'd say. Seems Lucy is a little dense, while Acnologia is quite sure what he feels. Let's see how that progresses! ^_^ Taken in perspective that I have never had any romantic feeling for others nor have anyone had for me, how did I do? #ForeverAlone - I hate hashtag….**

**This chapter is a bit shorter than the other I've been writing, and I apologize, I just couldn't fit anymore into it, before it turned awkward. Can't have that.**

**Oh and one of my reviewers asked me if there was any place to see Lucy with silver hair, and I'm afraid I haven't gotten any of the sort. You'll just have to use your imagination and hopefully land somewhere close to what I'm imagining.**

**Arigatou Orion Heartling, silverflame1234, mjb379, TheBigBadWolfxTheOncomingStrom, Pachira90, mene77, 2014, Guest, guest (Guest), devilhuntermistress, darkrith, tigersrule8, Guest, Guest, clumzybeans, aristofthemind, Hailchild, gadurel198, Risaxoxoxo, Guest, reina-angelique, Darkverger1, kawaiikitty111, FairyTailNaluFan, Lunethia, iwantacullentoo, , Diamons Angel Wings, 100animelover1210, steffy1405, kyralouiserivera, nikoneko123, gOthiCkUrOcHo69, Fortune's Choice, ariados26, .52012, blackcat98, beaglebagle, Crazzygril101, DoobyDoobyDooBopAgentP, Angela Lara, queenyuri, Maverickdm and all you other readers for everything! As always; you're amazing! But just take a look at this though. It's crazy. And it takes so long to write down all of your names perfectly .-. Honestly, couldn't you choose more simple names guys? ;) Nah, I'm kidding! They're all wonderful names, without equals!**

**~Line464d**


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

**I've seen Master Bob in real life… I'm traumatized.. O.o**

**Sorry for any grammar errors that I have made! R&R!**

**Disclaimer: Master Bob… No, Slowpoke hasn't told me he would give Fairy Tail to me yet. There's still time though.**

**At the field – Dragon Realm **

**Lucy's P.O.V**

"**Okay, let's see if they've appeared today.**" Alodiculis said, referring to my still dormant Dragon magic. It hadn't showed itself as of yet, and I kind of wanted to have it soon, so I could practice them faster.

Although today would be a bad day for it to show up. The pains of the Second Origin still tortured me and it hurt with every movement I made. I almost just wanted to skip Lokes' part of the training, but knew I had to do it. It would strengthen my willpower if nothing else.

I went into my meditative state and opened my eyes, standing in the usual blackness. Shortly after, the golden star popped up, shining even brighter than before. It was literally blinding.

I mulled a little over why it was so bright compared to the other day. At last I guessed it was because I had opened my Second Origin and that it would shine stronger according to my rising magical strength. Yeah, that seemed just about right.

I almost desperately wanted to enter the star to show the many small stars what I was made of and have gained Plue's 'full power', still trying to figure out what it could be, but I knew it had to wait until I got to the training with Moustache-Man later.

I watched the star as the light continuously shone in the darkness, it was so bright against the black surroundings it mesmerized me for a while. That was until a faint silverish glow caught my eye left to the star.

I widened my eyes and slowly turned my head in the direction of the silver glow. My eyes widened even more as I stared at it. The light from the golden star had completely concealed it from view, but there it was. My Dragon magic.

The symbol was the Fairy Tail insignia and it pulsed in a faint, faint silver color. This… This was what I had been looking for, it had finally showed up. Although it was only the third day of training. I stepped closer to the way too familiar fairy with a tail, which I now realized also could be mistaken for a Dragon.

I didn't feel the pull from it that I felt from the golden star, and when I tried stepping into it, I just stepped through it, ending out on the other side of it.

I pouted, I probably wasn't strong enough to enter it yet, I needed to practice my Dragon magic some more before I could enter. Which brought a smile to my face. Maybe now I was able to use Dragon magic, it really would be cool if I could.

I would have to ask Alodiculis about it, he probably knew more about that than I did, Káo (No), he _did _know more about it, for certain. So I closed my eyes and brought myself out of the abyss darkness and back to the Dragon Realm I had grown so used to in such short time.

Keeping my eyes closed, I began smiling. Feeling weird, I opened my eyes and looked at Alodiculis who was looking at the river, seemingly deep in thought. I cleared my throat to get his attention, which succeeded. He looked at me in confusion. "**That was quick, why…**" He saw the smile on my face and quickly grew one himself. "**Don't tell me you've found them already.**"

I nodded and grinned wider, now showing a little bit of teeth. "Yeah, that's exactly what I have." I said with forced calmness. I was so overjoyed I had finally found it, I couldn't even express myself.

Alodiculis just smiled wider and looked attentively at me. "**Please do tell.**" He urged me on and I told him how it had been hidden behind the bright light of the star, but also the part where I just passed through it. He just smiled gently at that part and told me it was because I hadn't used the Dragon magic enough and that it was still weak.

I looked up at the silver Dragon in front of me. "Alright, so I just have to practice with it and I'll be able to enter it?" I asked, hoping that that was the only thing I needed to do.

He nodded. "**Yeah, but even so, I think it would be a good idea to wait with entering till you've gotten used to the Dragon magic and have it come naturally to you.**" Alodiculis said. "**When you go in there you'll be set on a difficult task by your Dragon, so you can use your full powers for a certain element. There are such tasks for every element, and you need to get used to the magic before even considering entering.**" He explained with a serious expression on his face.

I nodded at him. I already knew my Dragon and I were two different beings sharing same body, Acnologia had told me. We had both woke up quite early in the morning and neither of us could fall asleep again and at some point I had asked him what had happened during his training. He told me about that jerk of a Dragon he was having, and I couldn't help laughing at him. He didn't take it so heavily though, I knew he wouldn't, and just chuckled a little with me.

I looked up at Alodiculis again. There was one question which had been bothering me since I saw my Dragon magic in the blackness of my mind. "Is it possible that my Dragon magic appeared because it had been the magic which was kept in my Second Origin?" I asked. Could it be possible? It seemed to fit, since they appeared after I had gotten it opened.

Alodiculis tilted his head a little and looked at me, considering my words. "**Well, it could be possible. It would explain why you haven't been able to use it too; it's just weird it's been hidden in your Second Origin.**" He said and furrowed his eyebrows.

I nodded. Yeah, it really was strange. I considered if I never had opened my Second Origin, would I have been unable to gain access to it then? Or would it slip out somehow? It didn't matter now though, I had opened my Second Origin and I had my Dragon magic.

Feeling like trying it out, I looked for my Dragon magic. Soon enough I found it, it felt like the familiar yet foreign magic which had seeped out of the Second Origin container. So I was right again, it was the magic of the Second Origin. No wonder it hurt so much, Dragon magic versus human or mage magic.

I sent the magic out to my right hand and opened my eyes to look at it. It was glowing in a faint silver glow, but strong enough to be seen. Alodiculis looked at my hand in wonder. Then back to me. "**How did you know how to do that?**" He asked in confusion.

I looked up at him with a little smile. "I've done it a lot when I trained my Celestial magic; the only difference this time was that the feel of the magic feels different." I told him. It really was simple as that.

I remembered when I was young and had found my Celestial magic.

**Lucy's Memory**

**Lucy's P.O.V**

_As usual, I was bored and lay in my room, staring at the ceiling. Now Mama wasn't here anymore, I didn't know what to do. She would usually come and play with me, or we would take a walk in our garden or even go out to the mountains way back. But she wasn't here anymore, and right at that moment, I missed Acnologia and his weird hair._

_It had been a year since I had been with him, but I just couldn't forget him. He was the only other child I had spoken to ever and the maids kept whispering about his tries to break in, thinking I didn't hear them, and looking away when I looked at them. To me, it was like they were talking out loud instead of whispering, it was so obvious what they were talking about and their glances didn't make anything any better._

_I turned on the Lacrima TV in lack of better things to do. I ended up on a channel where they talked about meditating. They said it would bring peace and calmness to the soul and make one feel much better._

_It was a guide of how to meditate. I wondered what kinds of people were even watching that kind of stuff, when the instructor continued talking. "Today we will not focus on meditating however; we will focus on bringing out potential magic you keep inside." She smiled._

_I widened my eyes and smiled widely. Maybe I could get my own magic now! I could become a Fairy Tail mage and be as strong as Erza! I would be stronger! I would have a super-awesome magic, and my friends would all help me fight dangerous monsters._

_The instructor sat down on the floor with her legs crossed, and I did the same in my bed. "Close your eyes and feel your inner magic." She told me. I did as she told me to and closed my eyes. "Just seek deep down in yourself for the thing that seems most familiar and as if it has a life at its own." She explained. I nodded, not so much for her, but for myself._

_Okay, I'd do this. The music in the background of the Lacrima TV faded out and I focused solely on finding the magic in me. Not knowing what I was doing, I kept looking for something that felt familiar and with life. A strong pulse in my chest made me focus my attention there._

_Just like the lady said, I felt something which was familiar and lively. I reached out to it and felt it react to me. It popped like a balloon and flowed out through my veins as if it had been waiting forever to be allowed to do that. It felt like a flood of warm water being dropped on me, and soon it covered me entirely._

_I opened my eyes and looked at my hands. They were glowing a golden color. I smiled widely. I would practice my magic and find out what I could do with it, and when I was strong enough, I would run away to Fairy Tail and be the strongest mage there._

_I smiled as a plan took form in my head and I began playing with my newly found magic. Time here in the estate wouldn't be so boring anymore._

**Back to reality~**

**Lucy's P.O.V**

Yeah, it was a good day, but I quickly found it to be hard to control my magic. I had enough time to practice with it and try it out though, nothing ever happened in the Heartfilia Mansion and it was driving me mad.

"**I see, but it's still remarkable that you are able to do that so easily now.**" Alodiculis commented, pulling me out of my thoughts and smiling at me.

I smiled back at him as I thought back on that day. "I played a lot with my magic when I was little." I told him, not knowing why I did it. "I discovered my Celestial magic after Mama…" The words caught in my throat and tears stung the back of my eyes. I fought them back and skipped that one word, knowing Alodiculis would know what I had meant to say. "I didn't want Jude to know, so I kept it from him and practiced in the dark." I smiled at the Dragon in front of me. I didn't want to call that man my father, I had nothing good to remember him by, at all. "So it isn't very hard now, I know exactly what to do."

Alodiculis nodded and smiled, not pursuing the topic anymore, knowing it was a rather sore subject with my father. "**Well Lucy, that means we can skip a lot of explaining.**" He looked up at the sun and tried to estimate the time of the day. "**Hmm, well it seems we'll continue this later, it's time for your training with Leo.**" He told me and looked at me with serious eyes. "**Now don't go overboard with you training with Leo today, just take it easy.**" He almost ordered me.

I began laughing a little. "I don't think he will let me do much today. He's overprotective that way." I laughed and tried to imagine how Loke would 'train' me today. He would tell me to sit on the ground and play with the grass.

Alodiculis laughed. "**He is a Lion after all, what did you expect?**" He asked me while laughing.

I smiled. "Exactly that." I told him.

He nodded. "**Well, I'll see you later, and then we'll work with that newfound Dragon magic.**" He said and flew off.

**In the clearing in Socubedo Forest – Dragon Realm**

**Acnologia's P.O.V**

Contradictory to the other day, today I wasn't completely hypnotized by the close proximity Lucy and I had shared. Káo (No), it urged me to work harder on my own magic.

But that was also mainly due to the thought of her getting hurt again, like she did with the Second Origin. Even though I knew that was one thing I wouldn't be able to protect her from, I would get stronger so I could protect her from any other harm coming her way. That was what I promised myself.

I had to get stronger, so she wouldn't need to be put in a situation like that again. Besides, as her mate, which I swore I would become one day, I had to be strong. To knock out that Summer-guy if nothing else.

My training so far had went pretty good, I had completed the part with creating a ball of Chaos magic, and now I had to play with it as if it was a real ball. It was _so _hard, I had to throw the ball in the air and catch it again, without having it dissipate into thin air as I did so.

If you asked me, I was getting the hang of it, but if you asked my Dragon, I sucked. Nothing extremely surprising there.

At the moment I was taking a break to replenish my magic, believe it or not, it was taking a lot of magic to create such a big ball repeatedly and keeping it that way while playing around with it like that.

Deamunas looked at me with curious eyes. "**So what did you and Lucy do when I left?**" He asked, breaking the silence.

I raised an eyebrow at him. "**Why are you so interested in that?**" I asked him. I had changed back to my Dragon form, so I could recover my magic faster.

Why was my SIC so nosey? It had nothing to do with him and even _if_ what he inquired he thought had happened, happened, I wouldn't tell him right away. I wasn't like a girl, who shared all the details with her girlfriends.

Basuril looked at Deamunas with a frown on his face. "**What? You got to see Lucy yesterday? That's so unfair, I wanna see her too~**" Basuril whined. Apparently, as I discovered right now, my cousin had taken quite the liking to my silver haired friend. Which I hoped would be more than a friend.

I smiled at my cousin. "**Ae (Yes), but you can come visit her tonight.**" I suggested, knowing he'd love the opportunity to be with Lucy. He almost loved Lucy just as much as he loved me, it was quite amazing really. But Lucy just did that, made people around her like her.

Basuril looked at me, grinning from horn to horn. "**Ae, ae, ae! (Yes, yes yes!) Yaaaaay~! I'll see Ac-nii-chan's girlfriend again!**" He cheered innocently, while making me extremely flushed unconsciously. I looked anywhere but at the two Chaos Dragons in my presence. That kid, he didn't even know what he was saying.

Deamunas snickered. "**Oh so it's official now?**" He asked trying to get some kind of reaction from me, which he succeeded quite well with.

I looked at him with a determined expression. "**Not yet, but I will make her mine some day.**" I swore to him. Deamunas just rolled his eyes and smirked. Sparkles appeared in Basuril's eyes and he muttered a 'so cool~', losing himself in a daze.

Deamunas, still wearing the smirk, looked at me again. "**Now I think it's time for you to continue you training, Acnologia.**" He ordered, probably getting a kick from being able to order me around like that.

I rolled my eyes in the same manner he had done before and continued my training, creating a ball and playing around with it. My record was holding for one minute so far and hoped it would evolve to five minutes at the end of the day.

**Back with Lucy**

**Lucy's P.O.V**

Loke's training had gone calmly and smoothly. He had been soft on me and told me to stop if it hurt too much, but I didn't take a break the whole time. We just practiced some of the moves he had shown me the other day, making sure I would perfect them. To some extent anyway, I was still far from being a pro like him.

So having talked a little to the Spirit King and all, I quickly went off into my mind. I was standing in front of the usual bright star, and with the pulsing silver Fairy Tail logo right next to me. I was gathering up my courage to enter the star and get it all over with for now.

I stepped through the star and ended up in the room similar to the night sky. I looked around, it all seemed just like the other day I had entered, nothing had changed.

I remembered what direction Plue's key flew in and looked there. "Stars! I'm ready to try again!" I yelled at them, hoping it would make Plue's key appear.

_Are you prepared to use your true power?_ They asked. I nodded, somehow knowing they would see it, and the star, which was where Plue's key disappeared in a flash, in a matter of seconds, Plue's key appeared in front of me with a little 'poof'.

I took it and held it in my usual stance. I called all my power, including the Second Origin magic into the key. However not all of it, I had to still have something left after this. I tried adding my Dragon magic to the key, but it wouldn't cooperate. I sighed inwardly, making sure I wouldn't lose focus on the magic I held in the key, of course my Dragon magic wouldn't go over well with my Celestial magic.

Just like the other time, my hair stood on end, floating above and around my face. This time though, a golden glow appeared all around me and I hovered in the air just a few centimeters above the ground. I guessed the reason for the two latter things were because I had gotten my Second Origin opened.

I closed my eyes and sent it all into the key, just like I had done before, and said the incantation I'd grown so used to. "Open, Gate of the Canis Minor! Nikora!" I said with the powerful voice I had. The whole room lit up in a bright, blinding light. I didn't close my eyes though; I wanted to see my little snowman-Spirit when he appeared.

I waited for the lights to die down, and smiled as I knew Plue would be there standing shakily and looking up at me with his adorable face. The smile grew wider and wider as the light gradually faded.

But it dropped as soon as I saw the spot in front of me, where Plue was supposed to appear, was empty. I looked all around me, looking for my little Spirit. He was nowhere to be seen.

I moaned loudly at the starry sky. "Why? What did I do wrong?" I asked the stars. Unexpectedly, I didn't feel too drained even though I had used all the Celestial magic in me, the only remaining was the Dragon magic, which was what kept me standing.

_You are not using your true power, Lucy! Use your TRUE power! _The stars told me, emphasizing 'true' in the end.

I frowned at the sky. What did I do wrong? I used my full power, what else could I have done? I couldn't use my Dragon magic; I could only use my Celestial magic with the keys. What could I be missing?

Did I have a whole third reserve of magic that could be opened, was that what they were talking about? Would it hurt to get opened just as much as the Second Origin? Would it be worse?

I hadn't even realized I had said my thoughts out loud before the stars answered my questions. _No, we are not talking about power as in magic; we are talking about the power in your heart. Your toughest strength, but also your greatest weakness._ They told me.

They had said that before as well, with it being my strength and weakness at the same time. And they weren't talking about my magic. They were talking about the power in my heart. The power in my heart. Power. Heart. In my…

I furrowed my eyebrows, it couldn't be, there was just no way. I looked at the stars again. "Do you – maybe – mean 'the power in my heart' as in my love for my Spirits?" I asked them carefully, everything but certain that it was true.

It fit though. It would be my toughest strength, because I would grow stronger the more I loved my Spirits and the people around me. And my greatest weakness, because I would easily be hurt and betrayed by people. Which had become quite obvious just a few days ago, back in…

I pushed the thoughts out of my head; I didn't want to think about it. Fairy Tail was out of the picture now, I didn't want to think about it all.

The stars twinkled brightly just as I finished talking. _Yes, yes! That is what we mean! Your true power, your strength and weakness, is the power you hold in your heart, your love! _They almost cheered.

I smiled and nodded. Now I knew what to do. I pulled up Plue's key and closed my eyes. I remembered when I first got Plue, the _way_ I got him, I remembered all the adventures I'd gone on with him – although he didn't take much part in the action – and how he was always there when I needed someone to hug with and squeal over. He was my beloved Canis Minor Spirit, and even if he wasn't the strongest of my Spirits, I loved him just as much as I loved the others. I wouldn't change him for anything in the world.

The key warmed up in my hand and when I opened my eyes, it glowed a warm red color, just as if it was being exposed to intense heat. I smiled as a golden light appeared in front of me, not from the key.

"Puuuuuuuun~!" Plue said happily and ran wobbling over to my leg and hugged it. I grinned widely and kneeled down to the little guy. I had done it! I had Plue's full strength now! – Whatever _that_ was.

_Good work, Lucy. You are now able to use Nikora's full power outside our world._ The stars praised me monotonously.

I smiled up at them. "Yes, thank you for your help, stars." I paused for a moment. "Uhm… Exactly what _is_ Plue's 'full strength'?" I asked them, not exactly sure if they would be telling me.

_Ahh, there are more aspects of it, we are sure you will figure it out._ They told me.

I sweat dropped. So much for help. At least I now know Plue has some kind of strength, except wobbly cuteness. I nodded at the stars and patted Plue's head unconsciously. "Alright, thanks again." I smiled and called Plue back into his key, which I placed at his spot in the little, empty pouch.

One down, fourteen to go.

I closed my eyes and reappeared in the real world, still cross legged and watched the Spirit King and Loke talk about something. "Hi guys!" I smiled at them.

They turned to look at me and Loke broke into a wide grin. The Spirit King looked surprised at seeing me. "**Lucy? Have you...?**" He let the question hang in the air, knowing I'd understand. I nodded eagerly and with a wide smile on my face. Moustache-Man smiled widely and began playing with his beard. "**Hrm… Try calling him out.**" He said with a hinting voice.

I nodded and pulled out Plue's key. "Open, Gate of the Canis Minor! Nikora!" I said a little loudly, and watched as the golden light appeared and my little Spirit came out and landed in my lap. I looked at him in shock; I hadn't even felt the tiniest little nibble in my magic when I called him out. I looked up at the Spirit King for an explanation.

He chuckled at me. "**Yes, it's not so hard now, is it?**" He asked rhetorically. I slowly shook my head, but kept silent, waiting for an explanation of some kind. "**You see child, since you now open their gates with you love for your Spirits, it won't cost you any magic, however when they use their magic, they will draw on yours, just like they usually do.**" He explained.

I looked at him incredulously. I called Plue out with my… Love? That seemed so cheesy; seriously, I called him out with my love for him. I liked cheesy though, it was pretty cool actually, to be honest I _loved_ it. I smiled down at Plue who sat in my lap. So I was calling him out with my love.

I looked up at the Spirit King again, another question having popped up in my head again. "If I call Plue out with my love for him, then what did Angel call her Spirits out with? It surely wasn't love." I muttered the last part, remembering how Angel treated her Spirits. Like tools to be used whenever she saw it fit. I already felt my anger flare up at the mere thought of it.

The Spirit King seemed lost in thought. "**Hrm… ****That's a good question actually. I think she was using her hatred, not necessarily pointed towards her Spirits, but maybe the hatred she held for the world.**" He grumbled for himself.

I nodded. It seemed like that could be a possibility. When I fought her, she didn't particularly seem to hate her Spirits, but she didn't like them either, and she wanted to change the world with Nirvana with Brain and the rest of Oración Seis.

Moustache-Man clasped his hands together. "**Ah well, that doesn't matter now.**" He said with a bright smile. "**I'm sure you want to know what Plue can do now.**" He said matter-of-factly. And he was correct.

I looked down at the Spirit I held and patted him again on the head. I turned my full attention to the Spirit King again. "Yeah, I would really like to know." I confirmed. I couldn't wait to know what Plue could do now. Maybe he could be strong?

Loke smiled widely and drew attention to himself when he moved his hands behind his head. "It's actually quite funny, I've seen it a few times." He said. "Plue can change into a human form, a little like the rest of us; you just have to push some of your magic into him. Then you can also ask him what kind of magic he uses." He explained with a wide cat-smile on his face.

I did as Loke had explained me to do and sent my magic into the little Spirit. He began glowing white, so white I wasn't able to see his features anymore. Then his whole form changed and he grew in size, still sitting in my lap. He grew and grew till he was done, and the light faded again.

Instead of the cute snowman-Spirit, there sad a guy with stark-white hair, strutting out in the back and with two bangs hanging over his left eye, almost covering it. He wore a simple white robe, with an orange band around his hip to keep it up. His eyes were completely black, just like in his snowman form. What I didn't realize in the start, was that his nose wasn't at its usual place, no, it was poking out of his big lump of hair along with another one, like two mini demon-horns in orange. What I _did_ see from the start was that my little, adorable Spirit was not so cute anymore, or little, he was a man, about the same size as Loke.

"P-Plue?" I muttered in shock, seeing as he had transformed drastically.

He nodded and smiled widely. "Yes, Lucy, I'm 'Plue'." He confirmed.

I just stared at him for a second, completely speechless. What was I supposed to say? My tiny, cute Spirit just turned into a man before my very eyes. Which reminded me… I was beginning to feel the difference in weight as well. "Uh… Would you, uhm… move?" I managed to say.

He looked down, finding himself still seated in my lap. His head jolted up and he almost jumped off. "Oh of course, I'm sorry, Lucy!" He apologized quickly.

I just smiled at him and waved it off, hearing the two sets of laughs in the background, but decided to ignore them. "So P… Is it still okay if I call you 'Plue'?" I stopped myself. Somehow, it was like he wasn't the same, cute, little Canine-Spirit he had been before.

He nodded and grinned. "Why, of course! I love that name!" He reassured me. Well, his behavior was a little childish at some points, but I did expect that since he _was_ the little snowman just a second ago, but at the same time, he was also kind of mature. I didn't exactly know how to explain it.

"Alright. What kind of magic do you use, Plue?" I asked him politely, being quite curious as to what his magic was.

He had a glint of amusement in his eyes. "I use Illusion magic." He told me.

I widened my eyes. Illusion magic, that was a somewhat rare magic, and definitely handy. There were so many things you could do with that kind of magic!

Plue looked thoughtful for a moment. "Well, I practically go over well with almost all of your Spirits actually." He said slowly. I smiled at him; that was true. Ohh, I couldn't wait to know more about it all!

**Later that day~**

**Acnologia's P.O.V**

Finally the day was coming to an end. I was quite proud of myself, to put it lightly. I had managed to keep a ball of Chaos magic going for a half an hour, playing around with it and all, and then letting it go when I didn't feel like keeping it up anymore.

Deamunas nodded. "**Alright, I'd say we're almost there. Now you have control of your magic, but that doesn't necessarily mean you can hit a target.**" He said with a smirk. I glared back at him. Surely I would be better at aiming now. "**We'll take that tomorrow though; I don't feel like doing that today.**" Deamunas sighed.

I just shook my head at him with a smile on my lips. Of course he didn't, he just wanted to go home and sleep till the sun was high in the sky again.

Basuril jumped up and down in excitement, probably because he was going to see Lucy again, sooner than he had expected.

I nodded at my SIC. "Okay, Basuril and I will be leaving towards my cave now then." I told him, knowing he most likely didn't feel like following us. And right as I was, Deamunas just gave us a single smirk in my direction and a nod and took off. I changed into my Dragon form and looked at Basuril. "**Are you ready?**" I asked him.

"**Ae (Yes)! Ae (Yes)! Ae (Yes)! Let's go already!**" He said eagerly and was already on his wings, flying towards my cave. Wondering how he knew the way, I just followed him. He seemed do happy all of a sudden. Did he really like Lucy so much? It made me happy he did.

I flew up next to him and looked down at him, deciding I wanted to tease him a little. "**Say, Basuril, how do you know the way?**" I asked him.

I saw him pale a little and he looked up at me nervously with his yellow eyes. "**Uh… Well you see, Ac-nii-chan. After the first day of training I just wanted to make sure you guys were okay and…**" He trailed off and sent me puppy-eyes. "**Can you forgive me?**" He asked me innocently.

Quickly looking away from his eyes I nodded, with a drop of sweat trailing down the side of my head. Phew, that was close. "**Of course, you just shouldn't tell Lucy.**" I said as I remembered what had been going on that night. I also knew that Lucy would hate having people spying on her like Basuril probably had, so for the little Dragons' own best, it was better to keep it a secret. I hoped I hadn't dirtied the little boys' mind too much though, the situation, seen from the outside, was easily misunderstood.

Basuril nodded quickly and we flew in silence till we reached the cave. I stepped inside and looked around. It was empty. I furrowed my eyebrows. Where could Lucy have gone? Why wasn't she here? Had she been… attacked?

I heard a noise in the background and quickly turned my head in the direction. It was a large silver Dragon coming our way. I glared at it. Had it taken Lucy and was delivering the message?

When the Dragon came closer, I could recognize who it was and I almost face palmed at my stupidity. Basuril smiled toothily at the Dragon. "**Alodiculis-san! Down here!**" Basuril said with spread wings, trying to catch attention.

Alodiculis looked down on us and dove down, landing carefully. He looked back over his shoulder. "**There you go Lucy.**" He told her. She was probably sitting on his back.

A tiny figure slid down the side of the Dragon. She landed on the ground and smiled up at the Dragon. "Thank you Alodiculis." He smiled in return and flew off after that.

"**Lucy~!**" Basuril cheered and charged the silver haired girl. He rammed right into her and knocked her off her feet. He lay down with his face on her stomach staring right into her brown eyes.

"Basuril." She laughed. "What a surprise to see you." She smiled. I just stood and watched in horror as my cousin had knocked her down. I had forgotten to mention the Second Origin to him, so he didn't know she was in pain. Although she did a good job hiding it, she didn't seem to mind at all when she was knocked down.

I nodded, regaining my composure. "**Yeah, I brought him with me. He was so jealous of Deamunas being with the two of us yesterday, he wanted to come with me today.**" I explained and sweat dropped at the same time.

"**Ae (Yes)! Why didn't you take me with you Ac-nii-chan?**" Basuril whined and looked back at me, having lifted his head off Lucys' stomach. He had an accusing look in his eyes.

I back a little away from the two. "**Ah, well we first figured out Lucy was awake and all when we arrived so…**" I trailed off.

Lucy got up on her feet brushed dirt off her clothes. She looked at Basuril and me alternately with that warm smile of hers. "Well, you're here now Basuril." She said calmly. He nodded eagerly. "Let's go inside the cave, it's warmer there." She said and went into the cave, two Dragons following her.

Basuril trotted in after her, walking up next to her and when she sat, he curled up around her like a tame dog and let her use him as a pillow. I smiled at the scene, it was rather cute. Lucy closed her eyes and relaxed into Basuril as I lay across from them, lying with my back to the entrance of pure habit.

We all lay in silence and after a little while a low snoring sound was heard from Basuril. Lucy giggled the most tingling and sweet giggle I'd ever heard at him, which made me grin widely, both because I would be blushing madly had I been in Human form and because of my now sleeping cousin.

Lucy and I shared a glance and both lay down again and relaxed, both trying to fall asleep. Lucy was apparently being kept warm by Basuril tonight and while it was cute enough and all, I had wished it had been me and not Basuril who was cuddled up around Lucy like that.

Well, there was simply nothing I could do about it. I could see through my still closed eyes that something was lighting the cave up. Not much but just a gentle glow. I opened my eyes and saw Lucy looking at a ball of magic hovering over her hand. It gave off a comfortable silver glow, which reflected in her eyes and made them even more beautiful than they already were.

I raised my head and looked closer at the ball. Lucy hadn't noticed me; she was too hypnotized by the ball of magic in her hands. "**What are you doing Lucy?**" I whispered loud enough for her to hear and my head close to her.

"Kya-" She let the ball go and screamed, before stopping herself, so she wouldn't wake up the sleeping Dragon. She looked at me and held a hand over her heart, as if to reassure her heart that everything was fine. After a while of panting and calming down she beamed at me. "It was my Dragon magic, Acnologia!" She smiled.

My eyes widened. Her Dragon magic? "**Since when?**" I simply asked. Guessing from the color, I would say it was the Peace element, but that was just a guess.

She looked up at me, her smile growing wider if ever possible. "I discovered it today." She explained. I looked surprised at her. She had just discovered it today, and she could already have her ball working so perfectly for her? She giggled at my expression. "I know what you are thinking." She smiled and made me flustered by her words. "Yeah, I can already make a ball like that with it. You know, it takes a lot of control over your magic to be a Celestial mage." She told me. "I have to be able to redirect the magic I want and need to use, nothing more, nothing less, into the key and then make it open a gate to another world. It takes insane amounts of control." She smiled. "Although, I have a bad habit of calling on my Celestial magic instead of my Dragon magic…" She trailed off and spaced out with a thoughtful expression.

I just looked at her. I didn't know someone needed as much control as Lucy was referring to, to open a Gate to the Spirit World. I thought it was just something like when I opened the portal from Earthland to the Dragon Realm, instinctual and easy. Guess it wasn't. "**Oh.**" Was all I could say. "**I see.**" I smiled at her. "**That's wonderful.**" I told her, although my ego had taken a huge blow right there.

_Don't beat yourself up about it Mini-Me. Obviously she would be better at control than you are, you suck. Literally._ The Dragon snickered. I sighed inwardly. I had really hoped I wouldn't hear more of him tonight, guess I wasn't so lucky.

I locked him away and focused on the cave with Lucy and Basuril. She was smiling at me and nodding. Suddenly, a yawn escaped her defenses, and she covered a hand with her mouth. I chuckled at her. "**Well, good night Lucy.**" I told her and pulled my head back.

She nodded and muttered a 'good night' in return, before giving in to it. I watched her for a while, before I too fell asleep.

My wonderful girl had found her Dragon magic. Maybe there wasn't long to go before she would get her Dragon form too.

**Okay, so it wasn't my best chapter ever. I admit that. **

**Well, next chapter will have a little time skip, so the story can progress a little faster and we can get to the Tenrou Island incident and the S-Class Exam, the discovery of the letter and Lucy returning. So yeah. Thank you for all of your patience. **

**Before you people ask, the training with Alodiculis was just like Acnologia's, where Lucy trained the control of the magic and got used to the feeling of it. She will take a little longer with that than Acnologia, since it wasn't the magic Lucy first discovered. **

**As usual; thanks to Crow-DarkHeart, nikoneko123, Poison Bat, Blackwing45LL, blackprincess12, Fairy tail otaku (Guest), FT LOVER (Guest), clumzybeans, PantherLily1, .96, Rex the wolf, Dakrverger1, mjb379, WinterStormArt, ButterflyDream100, clairedamoon, Midnightwolf21100, spolivka, 00halfblood, MavisVermillion5401, lucy heartfilia, Tempest190, Early Owl, Kenzie605, MidnightDragonflies, lovesfanfriction, innocence-creator and all you other readers for everything. Honestly; what would I be doing without you people?**

_**Okay: This is quite important, because it just is. I want to know how many of the words from the Dragon Language/Maori you guys have already memorized. And what they mean of course. Personally; I have memorized a lot of them, but that's probably also because I repeat them so often. I'm not judging you guys by the way, just thought it would be fun to know. Anyway, how many Dragon Language-words have you memorized?**_

**~Line464d**


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

**We've reached 200 favs guys! You are absolutely b-e-a-UTIFUL! I apologize for any grammar errors that I have made! R&R!**

**Disclaimer: Slowpoke is still reluctant to give Fairy Tail to me. **

**On the field, Dragon Realm – a month later (Dragon Realm time)**

**Lucy's P.O.V**

It had already been a month since my and Acnologia's training began, it was weird to think about, time sure went fast. It only felt like a week ago I came to the Dragon Realm.

My training had progressed well. With Alodiculis, I had practiced my control of my Dragon powers, not that I needed control in any way, and got used to the feel of the magic. I had gotten more used to it now, it was, literally, a second nature to me now. Almost anyway. During those training hours, I would usually try to keep a ball of what Alodiculis recognized as Peace magic in the air and playing a little around with it. For some reason, I always mixed up my Celestial magic in it, that was basically what I was trying to learn _not _to. Apart from that, I had also had a little target practice and – if I had to say it – I felt like I was doing pretty good, I could hit 7 out of 10 of my targets. At the end of the day, I would usually meditate, both to calm down… Well… Everything, and to check the progress in the black darkness. The silver Fairy Tail logo had been shining brighter and brighter, and now it wasn't as much glowing as it was shining.

With Loke, it had gone through some changes, to be more specific, the whole training schedule had been changed entirely. Instead of him beating me up, it was now changed to some training in the basic moves, as a start – Ae (Yes) I was that bad at it all – and some strengthening exercises. Those mainly being push-ups, sit-ups and running several miles every day. Metallicana had been by a few times, giving 'moral support' as he called it himself. I still remembered it all, and it sent shudders down my back. Basically, he was a lot rougher than Loke, he drove me much harder. On the other hand, after I got the Second Origin opened, Loke had been such a softie, so it was nice with Metallicana's roughness. Sometimes. Not really…

The training with Moustache-Man had simply been, to one to get used to Plue's new form, and practicing his illusionary magic. Now he could make and illusion of a wolf in human size. The Spirit King told me that if I got strong enough, I would be able to touch those illusions, meaning they wouldn't just be illusions, they would actually _be_ there. Kinda. I had also trained a little with getting used to call on Plue with my love instead of my magic, and I was getting used to it now. I hadn't been able to enter the bright star in my mind since I had gotten Plue's key back there, Moustache-Man told me it was because I wasn't strong enough yet to do that.

Acnologia's training wasn't as varying as mine. Since he was already in a good physical form, there wasn't put much weight on that part, except keeping him there. He had also progressed far with his control of his magic, all he had been training the last two weeks was the target practice, he still hadn't mastered that yet, but he was good on his way.

Now though, we were taking a breather, which would be taking the whole day. The Head Dragons, minus Acnologia, had decided that it would do Acnologia and me good to have a day off. 'Incidentally', that was also the day the Head Dragons decided they would all go to Earthland for the monthly inspection. So Acnologia and I were simply doing our duties as Head Dragons. Okay well, I wasn't, but I was in training, I guess. I had surprisingly not paid much mind to Fairy Tail during this whole training, except a little in the beginning of it all.

It still hurt to think about _that_ day, very much at that too. But at the same time, I just couldn't help but be kind of… Happy wasn't the right word, but something like that, that it happened, because if it hadn't happened, I would probably never have met Acnologia again, and I wouldn't have met the other part of my family.

I focused on the reality where I was about to head to Earthland again. I was for some strange reason sitting on Metallicana's back; I had placed myself carefully so I wouldn't get my butt pierced by one of Metallicana's many spikes. I really had no idea why I was sitting on Metallicana's back and not Acnologia's or Grandine's maybe, he had simply insisted that he should carry me.

Igneel pouted. "**Metallicaanaa~ I wanna carry her!**" he whined. I raised a brow at him and his childish attitude. Since when had I become so popular?

Metallicana looked at Igneel with a scowl. "**Káo (No).**" He simply stated, with a straight face. He wasn't making any room for reconsideration with this topic.

Igneel kept pouting and was about to say something in protest when Grandine smacked him with her tail. "**Keep your mouth shut idiot and listen to Dravola.**" Grandine scolded him. Igneel stared defiantly at her; she stared back at him with an icy glare. In the end, Igneel was the one to look away.

I grinned. Who would have thought Igneel, the almighty Fire Dragon – As he preferred to call himself – would be defeated by a lady like this.

Dravola coughed to get everyone's attention. "**You know the drill; we go to Earthland to see how the humans are faring, not to mingle with them, so stay away from them as well as you can.**" She ordered all of us.

In the start I had wondered why Dravola was the one who seemed to be the 'leader' of all the Head Dragons, now I knew it was because of the authoritative air she had about her. It was a little like with Erza, no one dared to do anything to anger the old lady. She was also by far the wisest of all of us, and experience as well.

Dravola made sure to make eye contact with all of us, to make sure we understood probably, before speaking again. "**I'll open the portal and then you all head through as fast as you can, got it?**" She asked. Everyone nodded or grumbled something in understanding and in a matter of seconds, the portal Acnologia had used a few days ago appeared next to her.

It didn't take long for the Dragons to get a move on, everyone hurried through, although not as chaotically as I had imagined, somehow there was a system to it all. Metallicana went through and just as with Acnologia; we seemed to speed through the air in an extreme speed. Even though I knew nothing would happen and I would stay on Metallicana's back, I automatically grabbed onto what was closest, one of Metallicana's spikes. I held the spike as if it was the only thing that kept me alive, which in return made Metallicana chuckle. I didn't care much and just held on, more for comfort than anything else.

As all the stars and colors swirled past us, I briefly wondered if what my Spirits experienced when they were summoned was anything like what I was going through right at that moment.

That was until we slammed into an invisible wall and slowed down instantly, Metallicana landing first on his back legs and later with his front to slow down the speed entirely. We were on a field somewhere with only a few bushes here and there. Long in the distance, the trees were seen, but from our point of view, they seemed to be hours away. The sun was scorching hot and burned down on us.

One after another, the other Head Dragons appeared in a blur of speed, in the same fashion as Metallicana, Dravola being the last one. They all scouted the area for any human, and found none. It would have been a problem if any human saw 12 Dragons appear out of nowhere, and with a girl no less.

Dravola turned to the Dragons. "**Everyone. Break out into the usual groups.**" She looked straight at me. "**Lucy, just stay at Metallicana's back for now.**" She told me, to which I just nodded.

Metallicana looked back at me over his shoulder with a grin plastered on his face. "**You're going to enjoy this group, Squirt.**" He told me adding his and his sons' trademark laugh in the end. I looked at him, wondering what he had meant by that.

Igneel ran up to Metallicana and smiled widely when he caught my eyes. "**Lucy~! We're on the same team!**" He cheered. I widened my eyes and looked at Metallicana, waiting for him to tell me it was a joke. Metallicana just smirked at me and nodded, approving of the truth in the Fire Dragon's words. Why would _anyone_ put the two of them in the same group?

Glanasile also walked up to the three of us. "**We're going to Maletame this time around, are you ready?**" He asked, looking around at each of us. Metallicana and Igneel nodded, while I was just staring dumbfounded at the three Dragons around me.

Why would Dravola put these three in the same group? She must have… OH! _That's_ why! She just didn't want them to possibly ruin any other groups with their comments - mainly Igneel and Metallicana - so she put them together. She wouldn't have to bother with them then. What a smug old lady.

Igneel smiled widely and jumped into the air, folding his wings out when he was high enough and hovered in the air above us with the occasional swing of his wings. "**Come on! Let's go to Maletame!**" He said happily. Something about that name bothered me, it seemed so familiar.

Metallicana grunted at the Fire Dragon and got into the air as well, not as lively as Igneel, more normally. Glanasile also spread his wings and flew up, much more elegantly than either Igneel or Metallicana could ever _dream _of doing it. "**Alright then, let's go.**" Glanasile said as he flew off past the other two – plus me – and towards the forest that seemed so far away.

Metallicana and Igneel soon caught up and flew a little behind the Ice Dragon. I closed my eyes, while keeping a vice grip on one of the spikes, and let air speed through my air. I really enjoyed this; I always loved when the air pulled my hair gently, or not so gently, such as now.

I shot my eyes open as Metallicana angled upwards. I looked to see Glanasile do the same. Igneel however, didn't. He was just staring at the two other Dragons which were going upwards quickly. "**Oi! Why are you going up?**" Igneel asked.

A tick mark appeared on Metallicana's forehead. "**You've got to be kidding me.**" He mumbled under his breath and looked down at Igneel. "**Fire Head, we're going above the clouds, there's no need for the humans to see us. Honestly, I thought there was a limit as to how stupid you could be. I was wrong.**" Metallicana grunted and focused on following Glanasile, while I barely kept my seat. I would have fallen off long ago, had I not held Metallicana's spike as hard as I did.

"**WHAT DID YOU CALL ME?!**" Igneel yelled after Metallicana and sped up after him, quickly catching up. He was just about to ram into Metallicana as he spotted me. "**Right. Probably not the best idea.**" He muttered to himself and stopped before he could even touch us.

Metallicana snickered, having also seen Igneel stop. He looked back at me with a smirk. "**So you're of some use after all.**" He teased. "**Thanks a bunch, Squirt.**" He said as he focused on catching up to Glanasile, who, once again, had flown off and was ahead of us. He was probably used to the two Dragons bickering about close to everything.

The rest of the flying went calmly, somewhat anyway. Once we were above the clouds, I didn't really need to keep holding onto Metallicana's spike, so I had made myself comfortable, sitting between two spikes with my back against the one closest to his neck, having turned around. Igneel and Metallicana had been throwing insults back and forth the whole time, Glanasile remained silent and I just tried to figure out where I had heard about 'Maletame' before.

Glanasile was the first to break the silence, which for once also floated between Igneel and Metallicana. "**We're here. Dive down quickly and carefully. We don't want people to see us.**" He told them. I quickly turned around in my 'seat' and looked surprised at Glanasile. We were already there? That was fast.

I grabbed one of Metallicana's spikes – again – as he dove down into the forest quickly and without giving anyone time to see him. He landed with a bump, sending me in the air. I quickly saw that I would have no chance of landing on Metallicana again, so I quickly thought of another way to land without getting hurt.

The trees. I pulled myself towards the closest tree and fell down, placing both of my feet on the trunk, using the force I had gathered from falling and pushed myself off towards the ground, where I landed carefully on my feet, having evaded being hurt.

I took me a while to realize exactly what it was I had done and when I did I just stood shocked by my own performance. Well, the training certainly paid off it seemed, I wouldn't have been able to do that before. How I learned to do something like that was beyond me, but it was probably the strengthening with Loke and Metallicana that did it.

I heard clapping behind me and I turned to look at a man with steel-gray spiked hair, which was longer than average, reaching to mid-back. He wore a plain, black tank-top and simple, overused jeans. He wore a metal-plate on his right shoulder with small spikes, which basically just was an accessory more than it was armor. He wore a dark red band around his upper left arm. He had studs on his earlobes, working as earrings, kinda. Most noticeably though, were all the scars which littered his whole form. He had a deep scar going down his left eye and three just as deep on his right arm just under his metal plate and down below his elbow.

He wore a smirk and looked at me with his blood-red eyes. "Well done, Squirt." He said, not teasingly or sarcastically, which caught me off guard. "I'm actually impressed." He smirked at me, knowing I hadn't expected that kind of reply.

I just opened my mouth, trying to form words, but couldn't. I closed my mouth again and took a deep breath before speaking. "Thank you Metallicana." I smiled at him, not knowing what else I should be doing in this kind of situation.

I wasn't surprised by Metallicana's sudden change into Human form, I had seen it a lot during training, so I had grown more or less used to seeing the gruff man.

Metallicana's smirk grew wider. "Well, it wouldn't have been possible if I hadn't helped you train, now would it?" He asked rhetorically, giving himself a boost of self-confidence, which – might I add – he did _not_ need.

I just smiled and shook my head at him. That weird, old man. Although I didn't know what age he was, since he appeared to be 25.

"Yeah that was pretty cool Lucy!" Another cheery voice, which I didn't recognize immediately, chimed in. A man a little lower than Metallicana said to me with a bright smile. He had flaming red hair, which literally looked like fire. He wore a red t-shirt with a dark orange flame-like print. He wore knee-long shorts in a black color. He had a big tattoo on his left arm resembling fire, ironically enough, without any other color than pitch-black. His eyes were also a dark onyx, you couldn't even see the pupils.

"Thank you Igneel." I smiled at the man, which looked to be 25 years old. It was so weird knowing that these guys probably were 100+, but looked like 25-year olds. That was one of those times where it was allowed to have your mind blown. He smiled back at me friendly but was stopped before he could say anything.

"Let's go everyone." Glanasile ordered, with a way less echoing voice compared to what he had had before. I looked at the Ice Dragon, which was no longer a Dragon. He had long white hair which went far down his back, but not quite reaching his waist. He wore a white t-shirt with three, thin black stripes diagonally over the front and back. He wore form-fitting, black jeans, which seemed a little lighter near the thighs. He had an icy blue band going around both his arms, reaching from the wrists and nearly reaching his elbows. He looked at the three of us alternately with his icy blue eyes.

I nodded. "Right." I went after him as we walked through the forest, towards Maletame. It just sounded so goddamn familiar, I just couldn't place the name at all and it pissed me off, to be polite. I hated when there was something like this I just couldn't figure out.

I mulled over it once again, determined to figure it out as I pushed the background noise, otherwise known as Metallicana and Igneel, away and ignoring it completely. Luckily, I thought Glanasile had seen I didn't really want to be talked to, so he didn't, or maybe he just didn't want to talk.

Maletame, Maletame, Maletame… What could it be? Where had I heard of it before? Something clicked in my mind, right Loke had told me about it once. Karen, his former owner lived in Maletame. Which meant… Dear Mavis. We were heading towards Blue Pegasus' guilds city! _That _was why it felt so familiar. What if I ran into someone I know?

I pulled a strand of hair around my finger and played with it, making small curls around my finger. That was when my hair color caught my eye. I smiled, right. I wasn't blonde anymore, I was silver-haired, they wouldn't recognize me.

We walked through the forest and ended up in a big city, not unlike Magnolia actually. "Alright, just walk around and try to catch all the small-talk you can, we need to know what is happening around here." Glanasile told the other Dragons, who nodded in return.

So that was what this was all about? They all wanted to know what was going on in Earthland, what better way to do it than to listen in on other peoples' conversations in a city where a guild existed. There was no other place the news would travel fast.

Then I scowled, knowing I was of no use to the Dragons, I didn't have my enhanced hearing yet. I thought.

"Have you heard?" One woman asked. I looked up, thinking someone was talking to me, but saw the woman on the other side of the street. I furrowed my eyebrows. I swore, she sounded like she was standing next to me.

"About what?" The woman she walked with asked. This was freaking me out, why could I hear it so clearly?

"Fairy Tail! I heard they were getting ready for the S-Class Exams!" The first woman said eagerly. I widened my eyes. What? The S-Class Exam? I hadn't heard of that? Had I left just as they were about to begin? Was Fairy Tail… Just moving on as if nothing had happened?

"Really?" The second woman asked excitedly. "Who are the candidates?"

The first woman tapped her chin thoughtfully, as if she couldn't remember. "Hmm, I think it was Freed, Elfman, Cana – again -, Mest… Uh… Oh and Gray, Natsu, Levy and Lisanna, of course!" She said. My eyes widened even more. They all were candidates to become S-Class? What had I been missing?

"Oh yeah, that's right! I heard that Lisanna came back from the 'dead'! She was just lost all along! That was what Sorcerer Weekly said anyway." The second woman said again.

I tuned out of their conversation, not feeling like hearing anymore, I had a hunch I wouldn't be able to take much more. Fairy Tail seemed to do just fine without me. I closed my eyes to prevent tears from falling. Was I really so worthless to them?

I felt an abnormally warm hand on my shoulder and turned to look at Igneel, who was smiling carefully at me. Oh my Mavis! The world was going under! IGNEEL was smiling CAREFULLY! – That was what I normally would have thought, right now though, I was too depressed to think anything like that.

I quickly figured Igneel had heard the same conversation I had and that he knew I had heard it too; this was his way of giving me some comfort. I smiled back at him and nodded as if to say 'I'm fine', although I was everything _but_ that.

Igneel smiled happily back at me, having returned to his usual childish self. "It seems your hearing has enhanced Lucy! You're doing great progress already!" Igneel praised me. I smiled warmly back at him, not trusting my own voice at the moment.

We walked through Maletame, listening to conversations, and everyone was silently focusing on doing that, meaning Metallicana and Igneel weren't bickering. I was helping too, although my ears could reach as far as theirs could. I focused so hard on listening I didn't notice three familiar persons coming my way until it was too late.

My right shoulder bumped into a 'random' man at the street and pulled me out of my trance I turned to the man. "Oh, I'm so-" I was cut off mid-sentence as I recognized the man.

Hibiki rested his arm on my shoulder and leaned into me, probably trying to be flirty as the Blue Pegasus guild was known for. "It's not a problem young lady, I'm sorry I pulled you out of your thoughts in such rude manner." He said looking into my eyes. 3… 2… 1… Hibiki jumped back in surprise and stared at me. "LUCY! Is that you?" He asked, looking baffled to see me here.

I giggled at him and waved. "Hi Hibiki-" I turned to the rest of the Trimen – including Ichiya unfortunately -, knowing they wouldn't go anywhere without each other if they could help it. "Eve, Ren, Ichiya." I smiled at them. They made their usual poses with sparkles and a pink aura behind them, looking like complete idiots.

All of a sudden, a sofa along with a coffee table appeared out of nowhere and I was pulled down on the sofa with Eve on my right, Ren on my left and Hibiki behind me, leaning as close as he could without being invading. Ichiya was on one knee on the ground and looked up at me. "Such a beautiful perfume! Men!" He exclaimed, which made me sweat drop. He never changed, did he?

Eve grabbed my hand and held it with his own two. "Lucy-nee, it's been a long time, I've missed you." He smiled cutely at me. I couldn't help but think Basuril would look something like Eve in his Human form.

Ren grabbed my other hand and brought it to his lips and brushing my skin gently. I prayed to Mavis that he wouldn't see my hand was without a Fairy Tail insignia. "Lucy, you have such nice skin. Not that I'm jealous or anything." He added his usual comment in the end and a red tint on his cheeks.

Hibiki gently took a strand of my hair and played a little with it. "I like what you've done with your hair, Lucy. Is it a new dye? It fits you." He complimented with a smile.

I sighed, but couldn't be annoyed with them, they were hosts after all, and they lived to do things like this. I smiled at them and answered them one after another. "I've missed you too Eve, it's been too long." I turned to Ren. "My skin has always been like this, but thank you." I smiled at him and turned to Hibiki. "No, it's my natural hair-color, I found out a while ago." I told him with a wide smile as I told him about my natural hair color, from my Mama's side. I had to force myself to not say 'Káo' and 'No' instead, I had really gotten used the Dragon language. I turned to Metallicana and nodded to Ichiya. "This one bugs me." I told him.

A feral grin appeared on Metallicana's face and I began doubting my decision to tell him about that. I almost felt bad for Ichiya. Almost. "Oh, _does_ he? Well, let me take care of that for you Squirt." He smirked and glared at Ichiya as he stalked towards him like a predator having sighted its prey. He grabbed Ichiya's arm before the other man could react and spun around a couple times before letting go and sending the little man flying into the sky.

"MEEEEEEEEEEEEN!" He yelled as he flew off and disappeared in a blink. I sweat dropped. Metallicana overdid it. I had expected that, actually.

Metallicana turned to me with a smirk. "We won't be seeing any of him the next long time." He smirked wildly. At least he didn't eat the man.

"MASTER!" Hibiki, Eve and Ren yelled after their Master, who had disappeared. They looked in horror at the direction he had flown off to.

Glanasile coughed a little where he stood. I turned to look at my other two Dragon-friends. Igneel's eyes were bulging out of their sockets and mouth hanging wide open; you would think he was trying to mimic the expression I had worn a little while back, when I was introduced to my group, while Glanasile simply had raised an eyebrow in question. "Are these… _Boys_ someone you know Lucy?" He asked politely, but not without showing his discomfort at the situation.

I nodded. "Yeah, they are." I said and made myself comfortable in the sofa, might as well. "This is Eve Tearm-" I gestured to Eve as I introduced him to my Dragon friends. "Ren Akatsuki-" I gestured to Ren. "And Hibiki Lates. The one who flew away was Ichiya Vandalay Kotobuki." I said at last as I gestured to the guy behind me when I introduced him. "They're all from the guild Blue Pegasus." I wasn't sure the Dragons would completely understand what I meant by saying that, but I knew the three boys were proud of being members of that guild. I looked around at the three boys. "Eve, Ren, Hibiki meet my friends Haeana-" I gestured to Metallicana, deciding with using their last name as their names, since the Trimen would grow suspicious if I told them their real names. "Kapura-" I gestured to Igneel. "And Haupa." Glanasile at last.

Glanasile nodded, both acknowledging my three Pegasus friends and the names I had given him and the two others.

Hibiki turned to me with a bright smile. "Oh, are you on a mission with another guild? Where's Team Natsu?" Hibiki asked politely, probably without knowing how much those simple words had actually hurt me.

I thought about what I could say, when Glanasile cut me to it. "No, we aren't from a guild. We're just walking around with each other, since it's a long time since we've seen each other. 'Team Natsu' decided to stay back at Lucy's guild." Glanasile explained, apparently hating the idea of being in a guild.

I nodded silently and smiled at Hibiki and smoothly put my hand over the place where my Fairy Tail logo had once been, to hide the bare hand from view, they didn't need to know the story. "Hibiki, Ren, Eve, I really need to go now, I'll see you some other time, 'kay?" I asked them smiling while I got on my feet, the Dragons and I really need to get a move on.

Eve nodded with a kind smile. "Yes, certainly Lucy-nee." He looked at the three men behind me. "Take care of her, will you?" He asked them with a wave. They just nodded, not knowing what say anything.

Ren looked up at me with a little smile. Kinda. Ish. "Yeah, see you around Lucy." A faint blush appeared on his dark cheeks and he looked at the ground next to his feet. "It's not like I'll miss you or anything." He added muttering.

Hibiki jumped over the back of the sofa and strode towards me. "Of course we will!" He exclaimed and grabbed my hand, which had not once been carrying a Fairy Tail mark, and kissed it, keeping eye contact all the time. "Don't get into anything too dangerous, beautiful." He told me, which earned him a big fist down on his head.

Metallicana didn't remove his hand from the boys' head and just stared at him with his blood-red – and menacingly intimidating – eyes. "I can't stand seeing all this gay behavior anymore. Pick yourself up, boy, and turn into a man already." Metallicana told Hibiki with an underlying growl. He looked at me for a second before grabbing me and throwing me over his shoulder as if I was a sack of potatoes. "Come here, Squirt, we're busy." He told me and added a 'Gihi' in the end.

I rolled my eyes at him and didn't resist, knowing I could do nothing against his physical strength. I waved at the three boys. "I'm sorry Hibiki; he's a bit of an asshole sometimes. Say hi to your guild master from me, will you?" I yelled when Metallicana turned around a corner and they disappeared out of sight. I smacked the back of Metallicana's head. "Don't do things like that, it's rude you know!" I told him angrily. Why did he pull me away anyway?

He snorted. "I didn't like their attitude, that's why." He told me. He glanced back at me, and I got startled by his similarity to Gajeel. They really looked like a father and a son… But it was only foster, that's what I'd been told. "Also, we need to get on with this investigation." He added and looked forward to keep walking. He snickered a little under his breath. "Besides, I know a Dragon who wouldn't like that little scene, so you should be happy I won't tell him. Gihi." He told me smugly. Although I had no idea what he was talking about.

I scowled at him and ignored the three, focusing on the conversations around me again. He'd been teasing me with that for a while, as if I had a boyfriend or something. Thing was, I just didn't so I never really got the joke and it pissed me off more and more every time he said it.

**Back on the middle of the street~**

**Hibiki's P.O.V**

I rubbed the sore spot on my head, that guy really hit hard. I wondered what had given him that much strength. Although my mind quickly wandered to other things to think about.

I turned to my team… Or what was left of it. I looked alternately at Ren and Eve. "Did you notice?" I asked, they both looked at me and nodded with serious expressions. We had all noticed.

Something was seriously wrong, one: Whenever Lucy went somewhere – and I mean always – she would bring Team Natsu or at least just Natsu, yet today she had three other men, who claimed to be her friends. They were suspicious though and much too close than just 'friends', I'd say it looked more like they were family, especially that Haeana guy looked comfortable around the now silver-haired girl. Which was also weird, although it _was _beautiful to her.

Two: She seemed to be much stronger, both physically and magically. She also had another magic in her now it seemed, it wasn't so strong now, but if it was trained it could be _extremely _powerful. That was what I could sense anyway.

Three: Her Fairy Tail insignia was gone. I noticed that immediately when I figured it was Lucy and pulled her to our sofa. It was bare, completely bare, not even a trace of the usual bright and pink mark was there.

I furrowed my eyebrows. "Something is seriously wrong." I muttered. I would have to investigate this sometime when I had the time.

**In Magnolia, Earthland – Around the same time~**

**Acnologia's P.O.V**

I along with Grandine and Silvia were sent to Magnolia, where Lucy's guild lay. Dravola thought it would be a good idea to check up on Fairy Tail and the city, besides the city was a great source of information. And it really was.

"You know, Fairy Tail will be holding the S-Class Exam in two weeks on Tenroujima the resting place of their First Master, it's so cool! I wonder who will become S-Class this time…" Some random citizen said to another random citizen.

"Natsu will of course! There's no way he won't!" The other said loudly and eagerly. I growled a little under my breath, I really hated that guy. I had learned all of the adventures Lucy had been through with Fairy Tail, she would always begin to cry whenever she talked about them, and that was nothing compared to when she told me of the day she was kicked off Team Natsu. That bastard! I hated him so much, but on the other hand I was also happy that he had done it. If he hadn't, Lucy wouldn't have come to me and things wouldn't be as good as they were today.

"Hmph. I doubt that, I think it'll be Gray." The first citizen said, butting me out of my hateful thoughts towards a certain Fire Dragon Slayer, who I now preferred to call 'Summer'. Gray, that was the other male idiot in Team Natsu, although I didn't hate him as much as I despised Summer, I still did _not_ like him in the least. That whole team could just go to Hell and back again for all I cared.

"Yeah, but Erza's there to prevent them from advance to S-Class. It's tough this time." The second shot back. Erza, the third member of Lucy's old team. I didn't like her, she seemed so high and mighty and with that past, she should see how Lucy was feeling and should have done something about it. She probably thought she could overcome anything, as strong as she was, but I would bet Lucy was stronger than she was at this point, with all the training she had been doing, especially with the cat and Metallicana.

"I know, they're in for it this time! That's probably why they're all out training now." The second said eagerly. I tuned out of their conversation, I had gotten enough information on that topic, I didn't care who they thought would win.

I walked on with Silvia and Grandine, listening in on conversation to gather all the information I could. That was what all this was about, getting information of the human world. I never really understood exactly why we were doing it, why we didn't just send 'ordinary' Dragons out instead of all the Head Dragons, but I guessed we needed to find out first hand.

A pretty white-haired girl with blue eyes and a red dress came up to me and smiled at me. "Excuse me?" She asked politely. "You three seem to be mages, have you joined a guild yet?" She asked, looking discretely around at me for one of those… Guild marks I believe Lucy called them.

I shook my head. "No, we aren't a part of a guild." I told her plainly, trying to indirectly show her I didn't care for the conversation we were having. I knew where this was going, she would ask me if I wanted to join some guild and I would say no.

She smiled widely, completely ignoring my try to show her I wasn't interested. "Alright! Why don't you join Fairy Tail then?" She asked innocently and extended a folder to me.

My eyes hardened. So she was from Fairy Tail, was she? One of the people who had hurt Lucy. I looked at the girl again. Her hair was put in a peculiar way, with her bangs put up in a ponytail and strutting out in the air and the rest falling in waves, reaching around her waist. The dress was long and with an almost white bow at her chest, with frilly straps going around her neck form it. Frills lay around her hips loosely, kind of framing the dress and in the same white color. I looked into her eyes.

Lucy had told me about this one, Mirajane Strauss. She was apparently a model for a big-shot magazine in Earthland and was an S-Class mage. Looking at her right now, she didn't seem like the type to be an S-Class, but looks could be deceiving.

Never breaking eye-contact, I took the folder. I might learn something from it, who knew? Mirajane beamed at me. "Thank you sir! I hope you will join!" She said all cheery, much like Igneel constantly was.

I nodded and went up to Silvia and Grandine, who looked at me questioningly. Grandine was the first to ask. "What was that all about?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

I stuck the folder in the air. "It's a folder about Fairy Tail, Lucy's guild, you know? Maybe we could learn something from it or something." I told her. Lucy had told me most of what she had been doing in the guild, and how rowdy it always was, so I had a good idea about what it was like, but even then, it wouldn't hurt to read a single folder.

Silvia looked at me with a confused expression. "What is there to learn, Acnologia? It's just like any other guild." Silvia asked.

I smiled softly at her. Of course she wouldn't understand, she hadn't heard what Lucy had been telling me. "Not quite, Silvia." I told her. Suddenly I felt like something was looking at me and I turned around to look into the brown eyes of a little white cat with a dress. It could only be an Exceed, since it was standing on its hind legs like that, and seemed to know what was going on. I kneeled down in front of the cat. "Do you want something?" I asked it as kindly as I could. Something told me that Neko was from Fairy Tail.

It widened its eyes and stared at me. "N-no, it's nothing." It stammered as it turned around and ran away.

I looked after it as it ran and shrugged when it was out of sight. I wondered what the deal was with the little Exceed. Maybe it got frightened or something?

**Carla's P.O.V**

T-that was the Dragon boy Lucy met in my vision. It was painfully obvious, that hair couldn't be mistaken and neither could the clothing going along with it. Where was Lucy? Why wasn't she with him? And why did he hold a folder about Fairy Tail?

The questions swirled around in my head, about Lucy and that Dragon boy. Could it be Lucy was in Magnolia too? No, then we would know. I didn't realize I had already reached Cana, until she pulled me out of my thoughts. "Are you ready to begin again, Carla?" She asked with a wide smile and red cheeks. Had she been drinking again?

Cana and I had taken a little break from the training, it was important to have breaks too, or else we would just run down our bodies, which we were not supposed to do. I just nodded absentmindedly. "Yeah, let's go." I told her.

I would probably find out sooner or later what was going on, Lucy had promised she would come back to Fairy Tail when she was done with her training, and I trusted her to do exactly that.

**Back in the Dragon Realm, on the field - At the end of the day~**

**Acnologia's P.O.V**

I came out of the portal with Lucy on my back. The day had gone uneventfully for the both of us, she told me Igneel and Metallicana had been bickering all the time at the end of the day though. No surprise there. We had collected a little information, mainly about Fairy Tail and their S-Class exam. Apparently Lucy's hearing had enhanced, maybe her Dragon side was slowly waking up now she could use the magic?

We parted ways with the other Head Dragons after sharing information, basically everyone in Earthland were talking about Fairy Tail, so there really wasn't much to talk about. I flew with Lucy back to our cave, and we quickly fell asleep.

**So, a little show time for the Trimen and a little bit of Fairy Tail too. They've been training like crazy as well, the Fairy Tail S-Class participants, that is. I don't know if maybe the Trimen were a little OOC, I haven't been seeing them enough in the show to be quite sure. Yes, yes I know they were there during the Oración Seis Arc and the whole GMG too, but I haven't read the manga. Can't bother with that kinda stuff, I'm only watching the anime. I know, I know, no offense to those of you who follow the manga, I bet it's just as wonderful as the animated version of it, I just haven't found the desire to read it when I can watch it.**

**I'd written a paper for my English-teacher a while ago, where I was supposed to tell him who I wanted to speak with, be it fictional or not, and had to say why, what I would speak with the person about and so forth. I had chosen Ulquiorra Cifer from Bleach, dunno if you know him. Anyway that's beside the point, thing is, when I got it back with the corrections and stuff - although few - he guessed that it was Ulquiorra from Bleach I was writing about! I had forgot to mention his last name and from what series I had met the guy, but my friggin' English teacher above the age of 30 GUESSED who I was writing about CORRECTLY! I don't know if that's creepy or just plain cool? ^_^ ****YOU ROCK HENRY**** (His name)!**

**A big thanks to BrawlerOfBeasts, fyumi, 00halfblood, clumzybeans, Amethystfairy1, FantasyFreakLover, mjb379, AkenoG, the road to the stars, MissTigerLover99, KillerCupcakes, aristofthemind, SweetMelody2232, Darkverger1, Castle-Mover, kezenoseiren, xxxdramon, Draph91, NoSrsBsnss, coffetjms, Trantium, Ace the Dark Purple Dragon, Animegeek030, StargazerlumiareFR, Aitherial, kittykat5811, babymunkhcin, RaspberryNeko, Turtles399 and all you other readers/followers/favoriters/reviewers for EVERYTHING! ARIGATOU!**

**~Line464d**


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

**Basuril's chapter. Yep, Basuril is a main character in this chapter! ^_^ Our little irresistible lovable Dragon. I'm sorry for any grammar errors that I have made! R&R!**

**Disclaimer: Do I have to keep doing this? Slowpoke owns Fairy Tail entirely**

**On the field – Dragon Realm**

**Lucy's P.O.V**

"Metallicana!" I yelled as I ran as fast as I could. "Loke help me!" I shrieked at my Lion Spirit, who was laughing his ass off. "So much for loyal Spirit." I wheezed out between pants. Metallicana let out a deep chuckle behind me.

At the moment, Metallicana was hunting me down like the crazed Dragon he was, literally. I was running for my life here, and he just kept pushing and pushing. Well, it wasn't new in any way, since Metallicana showed up when I was running, it'd been like this: Me running for my life and Metallicana running after me, having the time of his life. Likewise with Loke, who had refused to help me, because _apparently_ it was a good way to train running and endurance. I disagree with him, it's horrid.

"Come on Squirt!" Metallicana yelled after me in his Human form, he didn't want it to be _impossible_ for me. Hmph, show off. "You can run faster!" He laughed maniacally. It sounded like he was just behind me now.

I pushed myself and ran a little faster. My lungs began hurting with every breath and my legs couldn't keep this up much longer. But, I had to; I didn't want to be eaten alive. The grass and flowers flew past me, it was impossible to tell them apart. I made the decision to run into the forest in hopes of escaping the Iron Dragon. I quickened my pace a little, so I would have a chance to hide from him.

The forest soon enough came in view, and I quickly ran into it, resisting looking back at my pursuer. It would only slow me down and get me caught in the end. I swiftly weaved through the many trees, and when the footsteps behind me faded out, I took a sharp turn to the left and quickly jumped up in a tress, landing on one of the branches and continued crawling upwards.

I'd gotten really strong physically – if you asked me anyway – and now I could do things I thought impossible before. It wasn't surprising though, not after finding out I was a Dragon; that took the cake.

I tried controlling my ragged breathing when I found a branch I liked. I breathed heavily, but quieted it down when I heard a 'Gihi' from under me. Had he found me already?

"Oi, Squirt! I thought we agreed with staying on that field. It was like a secret rule." Metallicana called out to me. I dared look down and – just my luck – he was standing right underneath me. "I know you're here, Squirt! You may as well just show yourself." He told me. I stayed silent, hoping all he was trying to do was taunt me to make some noise giving away my whereabouts. I wouldn't do that. Metallicana grunted. "A game of hide n' seek, huh? Well, two can play that game." He said before disappearing out of sight.

I breathed out heavily, he thought I wasn't there. I was saved.

Or that was what I thought until I felt something poke my shoulder. I slowly turned around and faced Metallicana, who wore a wide grin. "You thought you could hide from me, did you?" He asked. He pointed to his own nose. "I think you forgot something. Gihi."

I sighed, of course. He would be able to smell me, I forgot completely. Great. I nodded defeated. "Alright, alright, you win." I told him with a small smile. I had wanted to win this time.

Metallicana winked at me and before I could do anything to stop him, he'd thrown me over his shoulder, like when I met the Trimen in Earthland. "METALLICANA! PUT ME DOWN!" I screeched. I hated when he did this. Did he get some kind of kick out of it or something?

"Gihi! Káo (No)." He told me with a snicker. I made a frustrated outburst, but gave up fighting him; he was just as stubborn as I was, maybe even more. I simply lay over his shoulder like that, waiting for him to get us out of this forest and onto the field again.

I doubted I would survive my own training at this point. If my training was to be hunted down by a crazed Dragon, I wasn't sure to survive it.

**In the clearing in Socubedo Forest **

**Acnologia's P.O.V**

The tree wooden logs stood in front of me, daring me to hit them. So I did as they urged me to. I gathered my Chaos magic in my hands and shot three thin lasers at the targets. I hit one of them in the middle on top, the other in the midsection and the last somewhere in between. I hadn't put much magic into it, that wasn't what this exercise was about, so the wood just sizzled a little, before the Chaos magic disappeared entirely.

I had been doing this for weeks, and I was getting better, if you asked me. I could hit my targets now at least. Somewhat precisely anyway.

"**Try again, Acnologia. We won't stop until you can hit those targets in the 'heads' with perfection.**" Deamunas told me. I sighed, he'd been telling me that as well. If I couldn't get this done fast, Lucy would overtake me. She was doing pretty much the same thing with her Peace magic, the only reason she hadn't already progressed further than me was because she also had many other things to train, that and she was still getting used to it. Basically she was just playing around with it. Which meant I also had a great advantage over her with the Dragon magic training.

My only training was to get used to the Dragon magic, and then keeping myself fit, which I did by taking a run every morning and at the end at the day, followed by some push-ups and other things like that. The rest of the day, I practiced my Dragon magic. It was really simple, really.

I gathered a little Chaos magic to my hands again. This time I would hit it for sure. I closed my eyes to calm myself down, I was getting riled up just thinking Lucy would be better at something she'd known for a half a month and I basically my whole life.

Ae (Yes), it was about my pride as a man, I couldn't have my girl be stronger than me, it wasn't right. _I_ was supposed to protect _her_, not the other way around.

I opened my eyes, focusing on the wood once more and got ready to fire. "METALLICANA! PUT ME DOWN!" A familiar voice yelled from somewhere in the forest. I lost focus at what I was doing, my Chaos magic dissipating into nothingness. I raised a brow and looked in the direction the noise had come from. So they were at it again. Poor Lucy, being hunted down by that old fart and… Well I don't know what Metallicana was thinking, really. He was just a crazy guy, maybe we should get him checked.

Deamunas and Basuril obviously also heard the outburst. Deamunas cleared his throat. "**Okay~, now you can concentrate on your training again, Acnologia.**" He told me with a small smirk.

I glared at him. "As you wish, Master Deamunas." I said sarcastically. Ohh, that guy thought he was all high and mighty since he controlled my training.

Basuril got on his feet and beamed at Deamunas and me. "**I'll go check on Lucy!**" He said happily. I looked in confusion as he flew away. Well that one was new, he'd made it quite clear in the start he would follow my whole training. Maybe it was too boring for an eight year old. I didn't mind though, I wouldn't want to watch my training if I was eight years old either. Lucy's training was probably a little more rowdy than mine.

I smiled a little, scratch that, it was much more rowdy than mine. Judging by that scream anyway.

"**You look really creepy with that smile, you know.**" Deamunas told me with a smirk accompanying it. "**I wouldn't show that to Lucy~**" He teased.

I growled under my breath and focused on my magic again; shooting three lasers quickly at the wooden targets it hit them all around the 'chest' region, even though I was aiming for the 'head'. Which just made me growl a little louder. I _had_ to get this done!

I drew my magic to my hands again and shot again, with a little more magic than usual this time. It left three small craters in the wooden figures.

Deamunas looked at it with his brow raised. He didn't ask what I thought he would though. "**So how are things with Lucy? Have you told her yet?**" He asked casually, as if it was something we talked about frequently. It wasn't, might I add.

I dropped my magic in shock at his random question and just stared at him for a while, before continuing my training and focusing on the wooden targets once again. I shook my head. "Káo (No), I haven't told her yet." I answered him, knowing that was what both his questions meant. He was so damn curious about the two of us, it was annoying.

Deamunas sighed exasperatedly. "**You should tell her, Acnologia.**" He looked down at me. "**Maybe she feels the same for you and you can be together, you know, for real.**" He told me with a small, but genuine, smile.

I shook my head again. "I doubt it." I simply said and fired at the targets again.

I had figured it out, she had been in extremely close to Summer. Maybe even in love with him. Maybe she still was? At any case she had loved him like a close friend or brother. They had gone through all those adventures together after all, it honestly wouldn't surprise me if she did.

I girt my teeth. I wouldn't lose to that moron, I wouldn't let Lucy be hurt anymore by him! The wooden figures turned into three replicas of Summer, making my anger flare. How _dare_ he? What made him think he was allowed to do things like that?!

I gathered way too much magic in my hands and blew off Summer's head, which had turned into the usual wood as soon as my magic touched him. I had hit spot-on at every target.

Deamunas looked silently at the three figures and nodded. "**Not bad. You can tone down the magic though, it was a little much.**" He looked down at me, and was met by an intense hatred.

That idiot, I would _never_ forgive him! He had done the unforgivable, he had made Lucy suffer. He didn't deserve the love Lucy maybe still felt for him, and he never would. No matter what he did to make up for it, it wouldn't make any difference.

My magic flared up around me, making my hair stand on end - more than usual - and wave in the air. I could feel my teeth lengthen and my muscles working under my skin.

Deamunas quickly reacted. He put one of his big feet down on me and kept me down with it. He was so damn heavy. "**Calm down Acnologia. I don't know what got you so riled up, but you need to calm down now.**" He told me calmly.

I glared at him with my wild eyes. If he didn't let me go now, I would tear off his foot. _His_ head popped up in my head again and I grinded my teeth. "Summer…" I snarled at a person who wasn't even there.

He pressed his foot down and sighed. "**Alright, listen. I know you hate the guy, but you'll have to wait with killing him until you join Fairy Tail with Lucy, or whatever it is the two of you have planned.**" He told me, staring right into my eyes.

I stared right back, I wasn't about to lose to my SIC, no way in _Hell_. I was supposed to be his superior; I was supposed to be stronger than him. End of conversation.

We had that staring contest for a while until Deamunas moaned exasperatedly and rolled his eyes. I smiled victoriously; he had moved his eyes first.

My magic wasn't flaring around me anymore, I had calmed down during this little contest. He was right, I had to wait, but even then I probably couldn't kill him, or I would have the whole guild after me. Besides, even if Lucy said she didn't care for Summer anymore, I knew she still did. Although maybe not as much as before, she still did.

Deamunas removed his foot, having realized I was back to myself again. He looked down at me with an amused glint in his eyes. "**Oh how I would love to be a fly on the wall when you and Igneel's son have that confrontation.**" He smirked. Yeah, I bet he did. And I betted he wasn't the only one.

I just let it stay at that and went out into the forest again to find some new targets I could use.

**In the Socubedo Forest **

**Basuril's P.O.V**

"**I'm on my way Lucy~!**" I reassured her, even though she probably didn't hear. I wondered what the old geezer, Metallicana, was doing to her to make her scream so loudly. Was he hurting her? Or worse, was he trying to take her away from Ac-nii-chan?!

I sped up at the thought of it. I wouldn't let _anyone_ take Lucy away from Ac-nii-chan! He loved her and he _would _have her. I would make sure of that! Besides, I didn't want any other lady for my Ac-nii-chan, she was nice, pretty and had a warm smile, which I loved! That ugly old man didn't stand a chance against Ac-nii-chan though. He was just too old.

I flew on, looking down at the ground below me in hope of finding Lucy and Metallicana. "Metallicana, I can walk myself." I heard a soft voice say somewhere close. I looked up and in the direction of the voice. It could really only be Lucy.

A 'Gihi' was heard somewhere in front of me. That laugh was seriously so weird. "I know you can Squirt, you're a big girl." A gruff voice answered sarcastically. "But we can't have you running all out of spunk, now can we?" He asked, followed up by a snicker.

Yeah, it definitely only could be Lucy and the old fart. I flew in their direction and quickly spotted them. Lucy was slung over the shoulder of a big, ugly man – if you asked me anyway – who I recognized as Metallicana. She didn't seem to be very comfortable there; I could see the plate on Metallicana's shoulder bore into Lucy's stomach. She tried moving around on his shoulder, so it wouldn't irritate her so much, but it was obviously an impossible task.

"Metallicana~ your shoulder plate hurts." She whined when she figured she couldn't do anything about it. I just hovered behind them, watching their interaction for a while, it was quite entertaining to watch.

Metallicana snickered. "We're enhancing your resistance to pain, Squirt. Deal with it." He laughed with a wide smirk in his voice. I sweat dropped. He was just too lazy to get her over on the other shoulder; it was a simple excuse so he wouldn't be forced to move her around. Typical old fart.

Lucy's head dropped and she just hang like a rag doll over his shoulder. "You're not nice…" She mumbled, which only made him laugh louder.

I shook my head, he was such a meanie. Lucy was just a girl after all, she wasn't a boy. As Ac-nii-chan always told me, you don't treat girls as roughly as boys, you're more careful, because they're more fragile than boys.

I flew down in front of Lucy silently; making sure Metallicana wouldn't notice me. He was too dense to notice me though; he wouldn't be able to detect me with my ninja-skills. I made eye-contact with Lucy and when I knew she was ready, I grabbed her shirt with my teeth and swiftly pulled her up, so Metallicana wouldn't have time to react. It worked, and Lucy hung in my mouth.

Metallicana whirled around, thinking that maybe there was an attacker or something, until he spotted me, with Lucy hanging from my mouth. Both Lucy and I were smirking. It only seemed to piss Metallicana off. "Kid, put the Squirt down." He commanded. I did as he told me. On a branch high above the ground.

I hovered in the air next to her and watched Metallicana getting more and more pissed. "Get her down, kid!" He yelled at me. I shook my head and looked at Lucy. I signaled with a nod that she should get on my back. I wanted to try it too; Acnologia, Glanasile, Alodiculis and even the old fart had carried her around, now it was my turn.

Lucy nodded with that warm smile I really liked and got on my back carefully. When she had seated herself on my back I flew a little higher. I looked down at Metallicana who was fuming. I stuck my tongue out at him. "**Catch me if you can, old fart!**" I yelled after him and flew off in the direction I had come from.

I felt Lucy lean a little down towards my head. "Am I not even heavy?" She asked with surprise in her voice.

I couldn't look back at her; I knew Metallicana would be after us soon, I had to focus on where I was flying. I shook my head. What a weird question, of course she wasn't heavy. I could barely even feel her on my back. "**Káo (No), you're quite light, actually!**" I told her happily.

She sighed in relief. "That's good." She told me. I heard her growl a little under her breath. "Natsu…" She snarled lowly.

I raised my eyebrow, even though she couldn't see it. So it was something about Summer? Maybe he had told her she was heavy? I almost laughed at the thought. Then he was weak, Lucy didn't weigh much. I knew I shouldn't talk about Summer with Lucy, Ac-nii-chan told me.

I heard a roar behind me and a wide smile spread across my face. Metallicana had changed to his Dragon form; I couldn't believe how slow he was. Like, he probably just stood looking into the air for five seconds before acting.

I glanced back at Lucy, getting eye-contact with her. "**Are you ready to speed up?**" I asked with a wide smile, hoping she would say 'Ae' (Yes), because I really wanted to speed up before Metallicana bit my tail off.

Lucy nodded with a just as wide smile. "Ae (yes) give it your all!" She cheered me on. I nodded and sped up.

"**COME BACK HERE KID! I'M NOT DONE WITH YOU!**" Metallicana yelled behind me. Lucy's and my laugh mingled as we flew off. The wind brushed past us quickly and I enjoyed it more than anything. I looked back at Lucy to see how she was doing; she seemed to be enjoying it, with a big smile and small giggles as she turned around to look for the old fart, who was quickly getting farther and farther away.

I knew there was no way that old guy could keep up with me. I was still young and he was getting antique, really, there was just no way he would be able to keep up.

I heard Lucy's soft laugh and decided that although we had already escaped Metallicana, I would show her truly how fun it could be to fly. So far, all the tours she'd gotten on Dragon's back had been slow and boring, she needed to see how fun it could be.

I sped up a little more and looked back at her again. "**Hold on tight!**" I beamed at her. She nodded and seemingly understood what I was about to do, so she locked her arms around my neck and held on tight.

I nodded, feeling she was holding on tight enough for the fun I was going to show her. I quickly accelerated to my full speed and stretched my whole body out as far as I could and began pointing upwards.

I one swift movement, I made a loop and kept flying downwards until we almost hit the forest and quickly straightened out, flying just above the tree-tops. I heard Lucy trying to breathe and laugh at the same time. Alright, so she wasn't scared or anything, meaning we could have more fun!

I smiled widely and sped up a little again, while using the force I had gotten from flying downwards. I flew a little up so we weren't so close to the trees. I sped up again, so I could get enough force in my wings. I tilted my body a little and made a corkscrew, quickly followed up with flying directly upwards, until I'd lost basically all of the speed I'd collected.

I tilted a little again, pointing downwards and flew down in big circles, slowly gaining momentum. We began flying around in smaller and smaller circles faster and faster. At some point I felt I was about to get dizzy, so I straightened out, and made a downwards loop and flying straight again. I slowed down a little to let Lucy get her breath, which I heard she was out of just as I straightened out from the loop.

I flew, not slowly but not fast either, in a big rainbow-like half-circle with my right side to the ground, flying around more calmly, to give Lucy a whole other experience I knew she hadn't gotten either.

Soon enough, she had caught her breath again and I began speeding up and showing her my tricks once again, I twirled around in the air and made it my goal to have her laugh louder with each trick.

When I straightened out after having made a big loop, which went on a little slower than normally, I looked up to face a big, ugly chest of a big, ugly Dragon. I quickly spread my wings out wide to stop flying and stopped just before I crashed into the Dragon in front of me. "**You having fun, kid?**" I looked up into the blood-red eyes of the Dragon we had tried to escape a little while ago. He was smirking down at the two of us.

So he had caught up, had he? I nodded and beamed at him, might as well play an innocent kid. "**Ae (Yes)! I had lots of fun! What about you, Lucy?**" I asked, looking back at Lucy over my shoulder. When my eyes met hers, I winked, which made her giggle softly.

She nodded. "Yeah, I had fun Basuril. Thank you." She smiled at me.

Metallicana sighed and shook his head. "**Alright, kid, go back to the Brat and Squirt your training with Alodiculis is starting soon.**" He ordered plainly. I sweat dropped at all the nicknames he had given people; I almost didn't understand what he had said. AND WHO WAS HE CALLING A BRAT?! Ac-nii-chan WASN'T a brat!

I nodded with a wide smile, trying to piss the Dragon off. "**'Kay, I'll go now. See ya' old fart!**" I told him as I flew off in the direction of where Ac-nii-chan and Deamunas was.

Metallicana coughed behind me, trying to get my attention. I ignored him, knowing what he was going to say. "**Hey, Kid. Don't you think you **_**forgot**_** something?**" He asked me loudly. I looked back at him with a fake confused expression and shook my head. I turned my head, making sure he would see the smirk that spread on my face. Lucy giggled on my back. I sped up, trying my best to get away from the now pissed Dragon. "**YOU GET BACK HERE KID!**" He yelled loudly after me and followed me.

I just laughed at him and sped up even more. He still couldn't follow, he was too old. I felt Lucy lock her arms around my neck once again, and with that I dove down in the forest, knowing that big Dragon wouldn't be able to weave past the trees the same way I could. I flew as fast as I dared with Lucy on my back and down amidst the trees.

Not long after, I saw the light of the clearing and slowed down a little, I didn't want to crash into Deamunas as soon as I entered the clearing. I couldn't hear Metallicana behind us, so I leisurely landed on the ground and walked the rest of the way into the clearing.

Ac-nii-chan was still doing the same he was when I left to find Lucy and Metallicana. Hitting targets. Although he had gotten much better now. He hit the heads of the wooden poles every time, although not in the middle, like Deamunas wanted him to. I wondered what had changed.

Deamunas was snoring loudly at the other side of the clearing; apparently he'd been so bored he fell asleep.

Lucy got up in a more normal sitting position and her hands moved to the side of my neck, petting me lightly, probably not realizing what she was doing. "Thank you Basuril, it was fun. I think I have to go with Metallicana next time he comes for me though." She said with a small laugh.

I laughed with her, it was fun to piss the old fart off, I should do that more often. "**Yeah, it was fun.**" I agreed.

"Lucy?" I heard Ac-nii-chan call from across the field, looking incredulously at Lucy and me. I did expect that expression, Lucy had never been on my back and she hadn't been visiting Ac-nii-chan while he was training; she would be too busy with her own.

She looked up and caught sight of Ac-nii-chan. "Acnologia! Hi!" She smiled and waved. Then she decided it was time to get off my back, so she slid down and stretched her muscles.

Ac-nii-chan raised an eyebrow and looked alternately at her and me. "Why are you here? And what have you been up to?" He asked suspiciously.

I just shrugged and Lucy beamed at him, which just made him more suspicious. He would understand soon enough though.

"**KID!**" Metallicana's voice thundered from somewhere in the forest close by.

I quickly moved to hide behind Deamunas who had groggily woken up from Metallicana's yell. Lucy had also quickly hid behind Ac-nii-chan, who looked slightly flustered at the way she held his arms and pressed her body into him. I snickered; they just looked so cute over there. They should really soon just tell each other, it was obvious.

The old fart pulled me out of my thoughts. "**GET BACK HERE, NOW!**" He yelled loudly and he crushed several trees as he entered the clearing with a vein about to pop and his right eye twitching in anger. I was just about to break into a fit of laughter but kept it in, not wanting to reveal my hiding spot just yet.

Metallicana looked like a bomb just about to explode as he scanned the area. His eyes landed on Lucy and Ac-nii-chan before Deamunas and me. His anger seemed to dissipate and he sweat dropped. "**Squirt…**" He called out to her, she didn't budge from behind Ac-nii-chan. "**I can see you.**" He told her slowly and looked at Lucy.

Lucy let go of Ac-nii-chan – which he didn't seem to appreciate – and walked out next to him, having everyone's eyes on her. "Ae (Yes), what is it, Metallicana?" She asked sweetly, trying to charm her way with the old Dragon.

He raised an eyebrow, understanding what she was trying to do. "**That won't work on me, Squirt.**" He smirked and stalked towards her. And, faster than anyone would be able to react, he had grabbed Lucy's shirt with his teeth, in the same fashion I had earlier. Probably just to show off. Every Chaos Dragon looked at the old fart in astonishment. How had he done that so fast? "**If you'll excuse me, I have to get Squirt to her training.**" He said, his words muffled by the girl he held, faking a nice smile.

It took Lucy a second to realize what situation she was in. When she did though, she squirmed around in his grip. "METALLICANA! PUT ME DOWN!" She screamed at him, making all of our ears hurt. She even cringed herself at the loud tone of her voice.

The old fart shook his head. "**Káo (No), I'm not taking any more chances with you, Squirt.**" He said with an amused grin as he turned around and began walking into the forest again. He waved to the three of us, who were still too stunned to make a move, with his tail. Metallicana, that big mountain of a Dragon, could move faster than our eyes could follow. "**I'll see you boys some other time.**" He said, spread his wings and flew away with a protesting silver-haired girl hanging from his teeth.

The three of us stared at the direction they had disappeared into for a while, just staring at - mainly Metallicana's - disappearing form. Deamunas was the first to react. "**What just happened?**" He slowly asked, still staring at the sky. At the rapidly disappearing two people, you could still faintly hear all Lucy's protests, saying she wanted to come down or at least sit on his back, to which he refused every time.

Ac-nii-chan also looked after the two. "I really don't know." He muttered, looking like he desperately wanted to follow the two wherever they were going. I snickered at his expression. It was so funny watching Ac-nii-chan act that way.

They both turned their attention to me as I snickered. I looked from one to another, suddenly feeling their gazes on me. "**What?**" I asked confusedly. Why were they looking at me that way?

Ac-nii-chan walked towards Deamunas - who I was still hiding behind - and me, looking straight at me. "What have you been up to, Basuril?" He repeated the same question he had asked Lucy and me a little while ago.

I looked nervously at him. Uh-uh, Ac-nii-chan might be mad now. "**I, uhh…**" I trailed off. He urged me on with his eyes. I gave up trying to hide it and began explaining. "**I might have-**"

**Okay, so this was more of a filler-chapter than anything else. And it was short too. I know, you're all waiting for the guild to find out, and now you don't have to wait much longer, it'll be up next chapter. Juuust a simple week. Think you can survive?**

**A shout-out to my 'regulars'; mjb379, clumzybeans and 00halfblood! Thank you for your damn good support! ^_^**

**Thank you Key Phantomhive, mjb379, clumzybeans, madreader19, aristofthemind, guest (Guest), Eeveexme, 00halfblood, Night-Shadow Child, HopeHeartfillia, artisicdaydreamer, Amethystfairy1, Kelaeria, violet tsubaki, Jennosaur, FT LOVER (Guest), Spotify, MoonStar1312, ariados26, nikoneko123, ShiroHollow96, Beckweet, Selinae2014, ExDragon, RasberryNekoalmada20005, blackmagic0203, WendyMarvell123, googlygummybears232, fairychime-diamond47 and all you other readers for EVERYTHING! ^_^ Wonderful people.**

**~ Line464d**


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